









LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

ChapIPZ.'ii Copyright JN'o. 

Shelf.. 


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 


BEYOND THE 
BLACK OCEAN 

BY 

/ 

REV. T. McGRADY, 

1 1 

PASTOR OF 


ST. ANTHONY’S CHURCH, BELLEVUE, KY. 


Author of ‘^The Mistakes of Inger soil f The 

Two Kingdoms f “ Socialism and 
the Labor Problem.^'* 



CHICAGO: 

CHARLES H. KERR & COMPANY 
1901, 


Library of Ck>nqreBs3| 

Copies Received 1 

JAN 21 1901 

SECOND COPY 


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COPYRIGHT, 1900 

By Charles H. Kerr & Company. 






Library of Progress, No. 36. Quarterly, $x,oo a year 

November 15, 1900. 

Entered at the Postoffice, Chicago, as secpnd-cJass matter. 







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PUBLISHER’S NOTE. 

Father McGrady was born in Lexington, Ky., on 
June 6, 1863. Having completed his course of studies, 
he was ordained in the Cathedral of Galveston, Texas, in 
1887. During the first six months of his ministry he was 
connected with the Cathedral in Galveston. In the early 
part of the following year he was assigned to the pastorate 
of St. Patrick's Church, Houston, and later on he was 
assigned to St. Patrick’s Church in Dallas, Texas. In 
1890 he returned to his native State and assumed tem- 
porary charge of the Catholic congregation in Lexington. 
His next pastorate was Cynthiana, Ky., where he labored 
for four years, and in the summer of 1895 he was ap- 
pointed pastor of St. Anthony’s Church, Bellevue, Ky., 
and he still holds this position. The poverty of the 
masses, which increases with the march of civilization, 
had early made a deep impression on his mind, and in 
1896 he began to study economics, but unfortunately for 
his purpose he perused the works of the old school, which 
attributed the economic ills of the age to the inevitable 
law of competition. His perplexity was partially relieved 
by reading “Merrie England.” However, about this time 
he began to peruse the works of Henry George, and he 
then thought that the Single Tax was the panacea for the 
evils of modern society. Pursuing his studies in Social- 
ism, he began to see that the arguments advanced by 
Henry George for the common ownership of land, ap- 
plied with grave force to all the means of production ; that 
all the wealth in the world and all the progress of the 
ages were products of social factors, and therefore the 
common property of society. He also perceived the fu- 
tility of the Single Tax movement to heal the w, unds 
which capitalism had inflicted on the toiling masses. Be- 
coming thoroughly acquainted with the ablest exponents 
of Socialism, he became an ardent champion of the doc- 
trine, and his voice has thrilled many vast audiences who 
have stood amazed at the bold denunciations he has 
hurled against the oppressors of mankind. 

That this book will carry the new hope for social jus- 
tice to many thousands never before reached, is the hope 
and belief of THE PUBLISHERS. 



BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN. 


CHAPTER I. 

In the year 1793, Louis the Sixteenth, of France, was 
decapitated, the widowed queen, Marie Antoinette, was 
guillotined, Christianity was tabooed throughout the Re- 
public, and the Goddess of Reason was enthroned on the 
high altar of Notre Dame, and the grand old Cathedral 
church of Paris was desecrated by the ribaldry of the in- 
furiated populace. The Reign of Terror was triumphant. 
Danton and Robespierre were revelling in the blood of 
countless hosts, till the fate of their victims fell on their 
own guilty heads. The tricolor was borne in triumph by 
the Corsican adventurer through the vales of sunny Italy. 
The fame of Napoleon had reached the ends of the earth. 
He had immortalized his name at Toulon, Mentenotte and 
Lodi. The nations of Europe were startled by the march 
of his legions and the tramp of his battle steed. The Aus- 
trian army had been driven before the flag of the new 
Republic like dust before the hurricane. The Netherlands 
and Normandy had been annexed to the dominion of 
France. Governments were falling and thrones were tot- 
tering. Revolution was rife, and the battle song was the 
cry of new-born Liberty, begotten in the throes of an- 
archy, and emerging from the tomb of buried dynasties. 

The sound of strife had awakened the dying hopes of 
every conquered people, and the patriots of every land 
were donning the helmet and breastplate for the scene 
of carnage. The battalioned hosts of Europe were ar- 
rayed in glittering panoply, and the throne of despotism 
was imperiled. The sons of Erin, encouraged by the 
astounding victories of Napoleon and the generals of 
France, thought that the day had arrived when the Gem 
of the Ocean would break the gyves of bondage, welded 
by the strokes of six centuries, cast off the yoke of the 
Norman invader, hurl back the ruthless legions of a for- 
eign despot, declare her independence, and assume her 
place among the nations of the earth. The story of the 


6 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


Emerald Isle is like a '‘pendulum between a smile and a 
tear.” Her history is made up of sunshine and shower. 
The school of the West, the home of scholars and the 
island of Saints, she became famous long ere the Saxon 
thane ever trod the vales of Kent ; and the voice of her 
missionaries mingled with the roar of the Alpine catar- 
acts, and resounded through the mountain glens of Italy, 
and along the shores of the Rhine and the woodland 
glades of Gaul, before Norman Knights had ever met the 
turbulent Vikings of the North. Resistance to foreign 
invasion had always been regarded as a sacred obligation 
by the children of Hibernian blood. They marshalled 
their hosts in battle array against the mailed legions of 
Bolingbroke, and the conquest begun- by Henry the 
Second, in 1172, was completed by fire and sword four 
hundred years later in the reign of Elizabeth, the daugh- 
ter of Henry the Eighth, who will be known to all genera- 
tions as a cruel and licentious virago. The spirit of the 
O’Briens and the O’Neills, the O’Moores and the O’Don- 
nells, of ancient times, has survived in their progeny. 
For seven hundred years Ireland has struggled with bat- 
talioned despotism, and the history of the sacrifices she 
has made on the altar of patriotism, and the agonies she 
endured at the shrine of Liberty, is the most inspiring 
record that has ever been written by human hands. 

It was an Irish bard that sang of Freedom — 

" ’Tis sweeter to bleed for an age at thy shrine. 
Than to sleep but a moment in chains,” 
and his verse was inspired by the gory flood that ever 
flowed from the heart of Ireland in her struggle for na- 
tional independence. The slaughter of her children by 
the sword of Cromwell has no parallel in the records of 
atrocity, and their exile after the treaty of Limerick, when 
fathers and sons were torn from the arms of children and 
mothers, is far more pathetic than the lamentation of 
Jeremiah over the captivity of Judah and the destruction 
of her temple. But, unlike the childen of Abraham, the 
scions of Milesian kings and the descendants of Irish 
chieftains, wept not in silence over the misfortunes of 
their country. On the shores of the Shannon and the 
Rhine, the Blackwater and the Susquehanna, on the ver- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


7 


dant fields of Tipperary and the swamps of Mississippi, 
whether fighting the battles of Europe or struggling for 
the freedom of America, every Irish heart loved the land 
consecrated by the Harp of Tara’s Hall. Age after age 
the patriots of Erin had presented their battalioned col- 
umns to the sword of the invader, and when their ranks 
were broken and their forces destroyed, hope still lingered 
in their hearts. The battle of the Boyne was lost, the 
treaty of Limerick was violated, and Sarsfield and his gal- 
lant comrades were no more. Their heroes had been 
slaughtered and their people had been massacred. Still 
they remembered Massilia, Vittoria, Luzzara, Freidlingen, 
Spires, Blenheim, Oudenarde, Malplequet, Denain and 
Fontenoy, where Irish valor won immortal glory; and 
they were inspired by their triumphs in other lands to 
look for the redemption of Ireland in the blood of her 
children. 

The French Revolution was their opportunity, and 
again the spirit of the past awoke, and armed men were 
ready for the battle cry. Tone, Thomas Addis Emmit, 
Neilson, Russell and a host of others, planned an insurrec- 
tion against British domination. The youth of the land 
threw themselves into the movement, and were swept 
along by the hurricane. Tone had conceived the idea of 
co-operating with Napoleon in the conquest of the Anglo- 
Saxon nation, but on the 20th of May, 1798, General 
Bonaparte embarked for Egypt, and thus the cause of 
Ireland was treacherously abandoned. On the 23d of the 
same month, the insurrection broke out, and this filled the 
hearts of the Irish refugees in Paris with enthusiasm. A 
gallant French officer fitted out a vessel, landed at Killala, 
and, with a small force, covered the royal troops with 
ignominious defeat. 

This expedition, which ultimately failed, owing to the 
paucity of numbers and want of resources, inspired the 
Directory to send a fleet into British waters to fight the 
battle of freedom for the exiles of Erin. The vessels set 
sail on the 20th of September and met an English fleet in 
Lough Swilly on the nth of October. The British ships 
were much larger than the French, and had better guns. 
The French fleet was conquered. On one of the French 


8 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


vessels were five hundred Irish refugees who had come 
from all parts of the French dominion to fight the old 
battle again. They were all young men who had been 
engaged in the conspiracy formed by the Rev. William 
Jackson, a Protestant clergyman, for the invasion of Eng- 
land by the French and Irish people. Mr. Jackson had 
revealed his plans to an English barrister, Cockayne, and 
this individual betrayed the secret to the government, by 
whom he was employed to follow Jackson and acquaint 
himself with all the details of the movement. Cockayne 
was admitted to the insurrectionary conventions, and be- 
came familiar with all the daring spirits in the enterprise. 
When Jackson was arrested and sentenced to death, his 
adherents sought refuge in France, where they watched 
the current of events and waited for the fortunate day 
when they could again espouse the cause for which they 
and their forefathers had fought. 

In the clash of battle amidst the surging billows, the 
French fleet was almost annihilated, and Delecasse, the 
commander of the transport, turned the prow of his vessel 
to the sea, intending to save his Irish confederates in 
flight, because he knew they would be condemned as 
traitors, while the French would only be detained as pris- 
oners of war. By reaching the shores of Holland, he 
thought to inform the Directory of the disaster, and 
secure re-enforcement for the conquest of England. But 
they had no compass, and were soon lost in the wilder- 
ness of waves. Onward they sailed, expecting every day 
to see loom up, from the broad expanse, the gray rocks of 
the Hebrides; but more bewildered than Genoa’s navi- 
gator on his way to the portals of Cathay and the gates of 
India, they beheld naught but sky and flood. No wreck 
floated on the billows, no winged messenger from neigh- 
boring coasts, filled their hearts with gleams of hope, but 
the purple dome above and the green depths beneath led 
them to believe that they had bidden farewell to the land 
of their youth. 

On board was a Presbyterian minister, the Rev. 
William Flynn. Although many of these young heroes 
were not Presbyterians, yet they all, without exception, 
loved Mr. Flynn for his devotion to Ireland, and his 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


9 


broad-minded, liberal views, and his consideration for 
the religious convictions of those who differed with him 
in creed, and they had unanimously chosen him as their 
chaplain. Mr. Flynn took with him, when he left France, 
a number of books, and among others, the Holy Bible, 
and the best works of the Fathers, several volumes on 
economics and the histories of all nations. He was their 
spiritual guide in the hout of peril, and when the clouds 
of despondency crushed the hearts of his comrades, he 
was their only star of hope. His bright smiles and gentle 
words, and above all, perhaps, his sallies of wit and 
humor, made them laugh in the dreariest moments. He 
recalled the struggles of their ancestors for liberty amidst 
the glens of Erin, spoke of Swerwick and the massacre of 
the O’Moores, and the butchery of their ancestors by the 
sword of the Protector at Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry, 
Carlingford and Wexford. He rehearsed the folk-lore of 
Erin, the visitation of fairies to the Vale of Avoca, the 
ghost stories connected with the cabin of Timothy 
O’Reilly, the legend of the Limerick bells, the history of 
Kate Kearney in the Gap of Dunloe, the fight between 
O’Donohue and the Devil on Devil’s Bit Island, and 
many a pleasant anecdote about Irish wakes and wed- 
dings. Onward they sped through the tossing billows. A 
terrific gale arose on the deep, and the ship was at the 
mercy of the waves for four weeks. The days grew 
shorter, the sun appearing but a few hours each day; 
than a half hour, a few minutes, till finally night threw its 
shadows over the deep to vanish no more. When the 
exiles realized their desperate condition, they were over- 
whelmed with fear. 

“We have reached the end of the world !’’ exclaimed 
some of the men, and the opinion was generally accepted. 
But the minister and some others were thoroughly ac- 
quainted with astronomy and explained the cause of the 
darkness. 

“We have drifted far out of our course to the north,” 
said Mr. Flynn. “We are now approaching the winter 
solstice, and this is the season of night in the Arctic re- 
gions. We must veer the ship toward the south.” 

But there was no light to see, no sun illuminated the 


10 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


sky, no mariner’s guide, and the storm, coming from the 
torrid belt, swept them farther into the north frigid zone ; 
and thus they wandered aimlessly over the bleak ex- 
panse, trusting to the God of Mercy. Fortunately they 
had sufficient provisions. The storm waxed fiercer, as- 
sumed the magnitude of a hurricane, the ship moaned 
and creaked, the wild waves swept the deck and kissed 
the spars and masts, the hatches were closed, and for a 
month more they drifted with the march of the tempest. 
Every moment the vessel gave indication that it was sink- 
ing, and despair was traced on every face and sat on every 
heart. Three hundred years before Columbus had battled 
with the elements amid circumstances that would have 
tried great men’s souls ; but that child of destiny saw the 
sky above and the broad expanse of water lay out before 
him. He could measure the day by the dawn and the 
twilight. But every gleam of hope had vanished from 
these children of Erin. Still in their sorrow they were 
comforted by the thoughts that were afterwards woven 
into song, and rehearsed by the lyre of their great na- 
tional bard : 

‘‘Sail on, sail on, thou fearless bark — 

Wherever blows the welcome wind. 

It cannot lead to scenes more dark. 

More sad than those we leave behind. 

“Sail on, sail on — ^through endless space — 

Through calm — through tempest — stop no more; 

The stormiest sea’s a resting-place 
To him who leaves such hearts on shore.” 

Far away in the distance they beheld lights twinkling 
in the darkness. 

“Land ! Land !” was cried from every lip. “We have 
reached a haven of rest ! Steer toward the light ! Put out 
the signal of distress !” 

The signal was given, but no response came from the 
shore. 

“Perhaps,” said Martin Barry, “the light came from 
a passing ship. If we can hail the vessel, we are saved.” 

But the tempests howled like the demons of despair 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


ti 


wailing in the depths of hades. The light vanished in the 
darkness and Spitzbergen (for this was the name of the 
place) disappeared in the shadows of an Arctic winter. 
Not many days later, when the storm had subsided, they 
ran aground on a huge sandbar near the shores of a 
desert island. They thought that they were close to land, 
but had no means of ascertaining, and their knowledge 
was confined to conjecture. The vessel rolled from one 
side to the other, and the billows swept her deck from bow 
to stern. There was no sign of human habitation, no cer- 
tainty of land near by, and no hope of relief. The vessel 
was doomed to be wrecked, and every moment the voy- 
agers expected that the end would arrive. When despair 
had reached its height, and the wanderers on the deep 
looked each moment to see their litle craft dashed to 
pieces, the tide began to flow and the vessel floated with 
the waves. 

"‘Hoist the sails!” cried the captain, “and let us put 
out to sea once more.” 

“Why not find deep water,” suggested Patrick Boyle, 
“and anchor till the return of spring ? Then we could see 
our path, and get some idea of our bearings. Here we 
are wandering over the waters without a guide, amidst 
shoals and rocks and icebergs, with our lives in im- 
minent jeopardy. We have been floating around about 
a month since night fell on us, and we don't know where 
we are. We steered south when we discovered our mis- 
take, and yet no sign of dawn. Perhaps in the storm our 
course was changed and we are drifting north and will 
soon reach the pole.” 

“I am sure,” said Timothy O'Hara, “that we are 
within the Arctic Circle, for how could it be so intensely 
cold ? Sure it is ten times more frosty here than it is at 
Glengariff, and I never felt such a breeze on Bantry 
Bay.'* 

“No,” said Mike Gallagher, “the coldest day on Din- 
gle mountain would be July weather compared to this. 
Faith, I think cows in this climate would give ice-cream 
milk.” 

However, the Captain was not discouraged. 

“We may be drifting east or west,” said he “and in 


12 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


that event, we will surely reach the shores of Europe, Asia 
or America. It is more than likely we are sailing toward 
the west; and I am firmly convinced that the land w'here 
we saw the lights is Iceland.” 

“It might be Greenland,” remarked Teddy Malone. 
“The longest night in Iceland is only twenty-four hours, 
and it is beyond doubt that we have been in darkness at 
least a month or two. At Cape Brewster, in Greenland, 
the longest night is about two months; and it is more than 
double that period towards the northern part of the 
island.” 

Mr. Flynn now gave his opinion. 

“Gentlemen, we do not know any more about the 
geography of our position than we know about the man in 
the moon. We could not have been in the vicinity of Ice- 
land when we saw the lights, for, as Teddy Malone says, 
the longest night in Iceland is only twenty-four hours. 
Teddy, you are a smart boy. You have not forgotten 
what you learned from Mr. O’Rourke about geography 
and astronomy. Iceland is but a little beyond the parallel 
of sixty-three degrees of north latitude, whereas Green- 
land stretches out beyond the eightieth degree. Iceland is 
south of the Arctic Circle, the dividing line between day 
and night in the polar regions. Greenland is principally 
north of the Arctic Circle.” 

“But,” said Tom Reilly, “Nova Zembla is also north 
of the Arctic Circle, and, your reverence, it might have 
been that island ; and if you are hard up for islands where 
the nights continue for months, sure there is Spitzbergen 
and Franz Josef Land. Sure, what’s the use of speculat- 
ing about a party of wee bits of islands ! We are in it, and 
we must get out of it, and if we die here, it is just as well 
as to be shot in Ireland. For my part, I don’t care where 
ye go, just so ye get out of this. Let us not be killing 
precious time arguing aibout geography and astronomy 
and these little things, when our lives and our country are 
in peril. You seem to be anxious to s'how your informa- 
tion on abstruse subjects. The next thing we know, ye’ll 
be involved in the mysteries of astrology, mythology, 
geology, palaeontology and ichthyology. Oh! do you 
mind them fine words I am using! Faith, if I turned my- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


13 


self loose, I’d play hob with the whole party of ye scientific 
lads. But it’s land and light we want now, and not big 
words. Put on the sails and clear out of this ! If we go to 
the east or the west, we will strike continents or islands ; 
and if we are going north, we will soon reach the pole, and 
then we’ll come down on the other side, for they say the 
earth is round like a ball.” 

After serious deliberation, the crew agreed to trust to 
Divine Providence in the present emergency and to sail 
on, regardless of their geographical position. Hours and 
days and weeks rolled by, and onward the ship sped 
through ice and storm and wave. After several months a 
faint light began to struggle through the dense clouds that 
hung over their horizon. The heart of every voyager 
throbbed fast with new life and high hope. The shadows 
slowly vanished, the horizon could be distinctly seen on 
the expanse of the wild waste of water. Brighter and 
brighter grew the blush on the brow of the morning, and 
finally the full-orbed, radiant glory of day, burst upon the 
deep; and the brave soldiers sang that sublime canticle 
that was intoned by the angelic hosts and echoed over 
the plains of Bethlehem when the Babe of Israel’s pro- 
phetic dreams was born to gladden the heart of humanity. 
They held a consultation to decide what course they 
should pursue. Their deliberations were interrupted by a 
wild shout from the deck. “Land ! Land'! We have reached 
land!” Every passenger on the Rochelle rushed to the 
deck, and beheld far away the faint outline of a coast. 
In the background were seen columns of smoke, rising 
from human habitation and floating on the breath of the 
morning. 

“Thank God!” cried every voice. “Thank God that 
we are saved!” 

“What country is it?” asked Larry O’Neill. “Surely 
this is not Holland, and I do not think it is Norway.” 

“It cannot be America,” remarked Patsy Donnelly, 
“because we must be far beyond the latitude of America.” 

“I don’t know about that,” said Patrick Gilhooley. 
“America is a whopping big country. My father fought 
in the American Revolution against the troops of his 
Royal Majesty, and it is a fine beating they got from the 


14 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


Yankees. Fve heard my father say that Ireland was not a 
patch to America. Faith, you could put the three king- 
doms into one American state/’ 

“Yes,” responded Donnelly, “and the United States 
is only a small portion of America. Mexico is to the south 
of that, and farther on is Central America, and then, be- 
yond that still, is South America. On the other side is 
Canada, which is bounded on the north by the Arctic 
Ocean.” 

“Is that where the Esquimaux live?” asked Gilhooley. 

“The Esquimaux,” said Donnelly, “inhabit the coasts 
of all the seas, inlets and islands of North America, be- 
yond the sixtieth degree. They are found from the east- 
ern coast of Greenland to Behring Strait, and it’s a dirty 
crowd of vagabonds they are, too. They dwell in snow 
huts in winter, and live on the flesh of wild animals, for 
the most part without cooking it, and they drink the 
blood of their game freshly killed, like a pack of hyenas. 
They fling the offals of the game into the corner of their 
huts, and the stench of Billingsgate market is decent com- 
pared with it. I hope we don’t fall in with that crew.” 

In the meantime the ship had approached within sight 
of the wharf. A shot was fired ‘from the fort, command- 
ing the entrance of the bay. The Rochelle put out the 
green flag, thinking, of course, that every nation on earth 
understood the significance of that emblem. A tender, 
bearing a guard of armed soldiers, approached the ship, 
and an explanation was demanded why it had entered 
these waters without license. When the invaders heard 
the strange tongue, they were non-plussed, and imme- 
diately called Delecasse, thinking that, as he was a 
Frenchman, he might be able to interpret their language. 

“Parlez vous Francais?” asked the Captain, but the 
natives could not understand the significance of his ex- 
pression, and they replied in words full of mystery to the 
passengers of the misguided ship. Again Delecasse, who 
was familiar with German, interrogated his custodians : 

“Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” Still no intelligible re- 
sponse. “Wir sind Soldaten und wir sind verloren auf 
dem See, und wir sind zu diessem Lande gewandert. Ver- 
stehen Sie?” Yet the enigma was not solved. “Was fuer 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


*5 


eine Sprache sprechen Sie? Es ist nicht Franzoesisch und 
es ist nicht Deutsch. Ist es Italienisch?’* No answer. 
^‘Sprechen Sie Spanisch, oder Lateinisch?” No answer. 
^‘Verstehen Sie Polnisch, oder Russisch, oder Griechisch, 
Oder Arabisch, oder Syrisch?” 

“What are you saying, Captain ?’’ queried Teddy Ma- 
lone. 

“I asked them if they could understand Polish or Rus- 
sian, or Greek or Latin, or Spanish or Italian, or Arabic 
or Syriac.’’ 

“My God!” exclaimed Larry Sullivan, “don’t ye spake 
any language under the sun? Sure, here we have a poly- 
glot with us, and yet ye don’t same to understand a word 
of the hundred tongues that he spakes. Be Japers! what 
kind of animals are ye, any way? Ye are nather men nor 
alligators. Ye are a quare crowd of fish. Well, there’s 
one consolation — ^they can’t abuse us, for they can curse 
till their tongues are black, and their throats are ten times 
their ordinary size, and we will be none the wiser.” 

The officers took charge of the ship, and having 
reached the dock, ordered the passengers to disembark. 
The Governor-General was informed of the occurrence, 
and he, having held consultation with the proper authori- 
ty, notified the officers of the city to keep the strangers in 
custody till something definite could be ascertained about 
their antecedents. After a few weeks the Irish were per- 
mitted to wander through the city, and thus they mingled 
with the natives, and rapidly acquired a knowledge of their 
tongue. In less than a year they could speak it quite flu- 
ently. 

One morning Timothy O’Hara, who had become an 
employe in the office of a Dr. Spemheimer, met Patrick 
O’Dowd, who occupied the position of coachman for a 
Dr. Kranseit, and he saluted his old friend as in the days 
of yore. 

“Good morning. Pat.” 

“Good morning, Tim.” 

“Oh! but it’s Doctor Tim now!” replied O’Hara. 

“Yes, and it’s Doctor Pat, too,” said the other. 

“Well, said Tim, “I’ve invented the greatest medicine 
ye ever heard of. Sure, a man was brought to my office 


l6 BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 

the Other day, and his heart had not run for two weeks. 
I gave him some of my medicine, and now his heart runs 
like an eight-day clock.” 

“Begorra, that’s nothing to the medicine I have in- 
vented!” said Pat. “I was called some time ago to see a 
man who had no liver nor lights. He took three doses 
of my medicine every day for a week, and thin I went to 
see him and I lamed that he had a ten-pound liver and an 
electric light! How’s that for high?” 

Pat and Tim then went into a restaurant to have din- 
ner, and they ordered everything on the bill of board. 
The waitress brought them soup, celery and crabs. They 
ate the first two, but did not touch the last. When the 
maid returned with other dishes, Tim said: 

“Madam, we ate your dish-water and your bouquet, 
but I’ll be damned if we’ll ate your bugs!” 

The Irish and the natives associated freely. The latter 
were amused with their guests, and mutual admiration 
and sympathy engendered a lasting friendship between 
thm. The exiles gave frequent performances in their own 
language, which the natives now readily understood, and 
told many anecdotes of their people and country. They 
related the history of Ireland from the earliest days, spoke 
of the Partholans and their subsequent annihilation ; the 
migration of the Formorians, the Nemedhians, Firbolgs 
and other tribes and clans who belonged to the wooded 
isles of the western ocean. They dilated on the war with 
the Norsemen and their final triumph by the intrepidity 
of Brian the Brave, in the year 1014; the invasion of their 
country by the army of the Saxon King; the persecutions 
they endured from the cruel enactments of British sover- 
eigns and British Parliaments; the victories that had 
sometimes crowned their insurrections; their expatriation; 
the loss of their tongue by foreign importation and legal 
proscription; their deprivation of the advantages of edu- 
cation; the conquest of Napoleon, with whom they had 
cast their fortunes; the coalition with the French Direc- 
tory for the subversion of the Anglo-Saxon throne; the 
formation of a fleet to co-operate with the army in the 
liberation of their country and their defeat and disaster at 
Lough Swilly. Then the Irish refugees detailed the story 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


i; 

of their escape from the English navy, and their subse- 
quent embarrassment on the sea. The strangers believed 
them and explained why they were suspicious. 

“You see,” they said, “our history is something like 
the story that you tell. Tradition states that our ancestors 
came from the continent of Asia, from the borders of the 
Mediterranean, from the Mountains of Israel. Those 
were the ten tribes, and when they reached the trans- Arctic 
world, they divided the land between them. The country 
was called New Israel, after our home in Asia. Then arose 
the independent kingdom of Dan, and the kingdom of 
Reuben, the kingdom of Zabulon, the kingdom of Simeon, 
Asher, Manassah, keeping the names according as they 
existed in Palestine. At that distant period it was be- 
lieved that there was but one continent, but later it was 
discovered that there were two great hemispheres, separ- 
ated by two vast oceans. Each hemisphere contained two 
continents, besides numerous islands. The sea on the west 
of New Israel was called the sea of Abraham, and the 
broad expanse of waters on the east was named the Sea 
of Moab. The ocean to the south did not exist in the 
days of our ancestors. According to tradition, there was 
a mighty earthquake about eighteen hundred years ago, 
and in that seismic convulsion, the land to the south, over 
which our fathers marched from Asia to this part of the 
earth, suddenly vanished, and the wild ocean rolled over 
the lost regions.” 

“You say that happened about eighten hundred years 
ago?” said Larry O’Neill. 

“Yes,” replied the Israelites; “and our fathers were 
appalled, because they thought that it was the announce- 
ment of the birth of the Messiah, who, according to our 
prophecies, was to be born of the house of David. Moses 
says that The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him, and 
upon them shall he thunder in the heavens. The Lord 
shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give empire 
to his king.’ ” 

Mr. Flynn then related that Christ, the Messiah, prom- 
ised to Israel, had come about that time, and when He 
was condemned on the cross, the sun was darkened, and 
there was a great earthquake, and other expressions of 


i8 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


nature’s revolt against the crime of deicide perpetrated by 
the Jews. The story immediately gained credence among 
the children of the lost tribes. 

“What is the name of the ocean to the south?” ques- 
tioned Terry O’Shanahan. 

“We call that expanse of wave the Black Ocean, be- 
cause night broods over a part of it about four months in 
the year.” 

“And what is the name of this Continent?” queried 
Terry. 

“This is the Continent of Toadia, and it was discovered 
about three hundred years ago. It is divided into three 
great divisions, North, Central and South Toadia; and 
these divisions have many distinct governments. Al- 
though Toadias, who discovered this land, sailed in the 
service of Reuben, yet it is peopled by different nations 
of New Israel. Dan introduced colonies into North 
Toadia, while Reuben and Asher colonized Central and 
South Toadia. The North Toadians have rebelled against 
the domination of Dan, and declared their independence, 
and a war is now progressing in that country.” 

“Is that so?” asked Patrick Gilhooley. “Well be- 
gorra, we are just fresh from the fight, and if there is a 
chance for our hand, we will not be slow in putting in a 
few strokes.” 

The Captain asked how far it was to the capital of 
North Toadia, and the natives informed him that it was 
about a thousand leagues. Larry O’Neill proposed to 
join the army of the insurgents, and the refugees shouted, 
with one voice: 

“Hurrah for Toadia! Let us unfurl the green flag 
and fight for liberty I” 

The sails were spread, the cables were removed, and 
the Rochelle sped away, amidst the cheers of the natives 
and the songs of the Irish bards. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


19 


CHAPTER II. 

Solomon, whose glory has been the theme of many a 
poet, and whose wisdom has dazzled nations and ages; 
Solomon, who crowned Mount Moria with a temple of 
beauty, wealth and splendor, where the sacrifice and the 
prayers of Israel were offered, and where the love of a de- 
voted people was enthroned; Solomon, whose voice was 
the voice of prophecy, whose visions were mighty armies 
of angels, whose dreams were the thoughts of God, and 
whose songs have echoed among the massive columns 
and through the dimly lighted cathedral aisles in every 
Christian land ; this renowned man was a paradoxical ex- 
emplification of virtue and vice This king, sage and 
oracle, forgot the messages of heaven, which he delivered 
to the children of Abraham; forgot the promises made to 
the father of his race; forgot the mystic rod that hid the 
golden sheen of day with the sable curtain of night, that 
transmuted silvery streams into gory floods, that filled 
the land of Egypt with the shadows of death and the sighs 
of the grave, that dispersed the waves and called forth a 
limpid fountain from a solid rock. This mighty voice of 
revelation forgot the Deity clad in the flames of the stormy 
skies; forgot the magic sound of Josua’s trumpet and the 
crash and fall of a doomed city; forgot the battles won 
by the sword of martial angels; forgot the ministers of 
vengeance that smote the camp of Assyria, and the retri- 
bution that fell on the hosts of David. In his wealth and 
luxury, the inspired king, seduced by the fascinations of 
his pagan wives, stained the altar of Moloch with the 
blood of sacrifice and paid homage to Astarthe, the god- 
dess of the Sidonians. And God spoke to Solomon, say- 
ing: ‘‘Because thou hast done this, and hast not kept my 
covenant and my precepts, which I have commanded thee, 
I will divide and rend thy kingdom, and I will give it to 
thy servant. Nevertheless, in thy days I will not do it, for 
David thy father’s sake, but I will rend it out of the hand 
of thy son. Neither will I take away the whole kingdom. 


20 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


but I will give one tribe to thy son, for the sake of David 
my servant, and Jerusalem which I have chosen.’^ This 
prophecy was fulfilled in the next reign, when the ten 
tribes, rebelling against the unjust and exorbitant taxa- 
tion, chose Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s servants, for their 
king; while the tribes of Benjamin and Judah remained 
faithful to Roboam. Thus was established the independ- 
ent kingdom of Israel. For two hundred and fifty-two 
years the ten tribes maintained a separate existence. Jero- 
boam designated Bethel and Dan as the places where 
Israel should offer worship to God. A new priesthood 
was ordained, and soon the land was cursed with the 
abominations of pagan vices and superstitions. Elias 
spoke in vain. The clouds of heaven refused their moisture, 
the voice of Baal was silent in the hour of need, and the 
earth was crimsoned with the blood of his priests. Israel’s 
iniquities cried to the throne of God for vengeance. The 
day of chastisement came. Salmanasar laid siege to Sa- 
maria, the capital of their kingdom. After three years and 
six months, the city was taken, and the hosts of Israel 
were led captive into Assyria, in the year 722; and thus 
ended forever, as men have vainly thought, the independ- 
ent kingdom of the ten tribes. 

Ethnologists and students of history have searched 
every known spot on earth in quest of the lost houses of 
Israel. The history of the Jews, their decline, dispersion 
and peregrinations, is the most interesting and remarkable 
narrative that has ever been written by the pen of man. 
An enthralled people on the borders of the Nile cry to the 
God of Abraham, and Jehovah appears to Moses on the 
summit of Horeb. The Hebrew legislator conducts the 
flight of his countrymen, and that little band of fugitives 
grew into a nation which has been blessed with immor- 
tality. The voice of prophecy has long ceased to fill her 
temples, and the wings of angels are no more spread above 
her Holy of Holies; and yet Judah has left her impress 
upon every civilized land. The Jew is known everywhere. 
The blood of Abraham still rolls in his veins, unchanged 
by the tide of time, and the birth of empires and the death 
of nations. The Egyptians were far more powerful, far 
more enlightened and far more numerous; yet the children 


beyond the black ocean 21 

of the Pharaohs are known only by the ruins of their 
cities and temples and pyramids. The Chaldeans and 
Assyrians were masters of the Orient, when Israel’s! 
prophets wept over the desolation of their lands. And 
these people now live only in the buried splendor of Nine- 
veh and Babylon. Greece was a land of art and genius, 
and the harp of the muse has consecrated all her foun- 
tains, vales and groves. What sacred names cluster 
around that immortal land ! What glorious memories are 
enshrined in the verse of her bards! What dauntless he- 
roes pass before the fancy, as it wanders back to the golden 
days of Corinth, Sparta and Athens ! Orators, statesmen, 
warriors, sculptors, poets, painters! Come forth, ye 
deathless shades, and tell us whither has vanished thy 
classic lore! Come forth, ye mighty men of song, ye 
mental giants and pioneers of progress, ye children of 
genius that have filled the world with noble thoughts and 
divine inspirations! Come forth from the tomb of the 
ages, ye tutors of Dante and Petrarch, Milton and Shelley ! 
Come forth from the silent dust, ye noble spirits who 
breathed upon the soul of Raphael and Angelo, Titian and 
Correggio, and inspired them with visions of lifeless 
beauty that rival the grandest works of God! Come forth, 
Phidias and Praxiteles, who carved the smile and tear and 
clad the marble with every expression of human passion 
and sentiment! Come from your long forgotten graves 
and moldering mausoleums, Plato and Socrates, Zeno and 
Aristotle, and dissipate the cloud that envelopes the lost 
glory of thy immortal land! Why have ye, famed chil- 
dren of the gods, left no successors? Where is inhumed 
the treasures of your race? Where is buried the glory of 
your race? The history of Athens is closed. Her halls are 
silent and the stones of her academies mingle with the 
dust of her great men. The vales of Greece no more re- 
sound with the voice of the lyre, and the harp is silent in 
her groves. Let us leave the rocks of Athens, swept by 
the Aegean Sea, and wander to the throne of the Caesars, 
on the shores of the Tiber. The Imperial Eagles floated 
over every land, from the billows of the Persian Gulf to 
Ultima Thule, and the power of Rome was feared by all 
the nations and tribes, from the sandy desert of Libya to 


22 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


the land of the midnight sun. She had aggregated the 
gods of all peoples. She had appropriated the wealth and 
learning of the world. Her subjects numbered one hun- 
dred and eighty millions, and her coffers were filled with 
the tributes of her conquered dominions. Genius, art and 
science flourished in her halls. Eloquence resounded 
among the stately columns of her forum. Luxury filled 
her homes, elegance adorned her palaces, and in the height 
of her pride and in the full assurance of her durability, 
she called herself the Eternal City. The palaces of the 
Caesars are buried, the temples of her gods are in ruins; 
there is nothing left of the forum but a few broken pillars; 
the Colosseum is tottering; and this is all that remains to 
perpetuate the name of Pagan Rome. New peoples have 
come down from the German Ocean and the Baltic Sea 
and pitched their tents upon the ruins of the Empire; 
young nations have sprung up on the borders of the Adri- 
atic and the Mediterranean ; young republics have 
crowned the Umbrian hills and the rocks of the Maritime 
Alps ; a new tongue has supplanted the old ; new customs 
and manners lend their assistance in obliterating the last 
vestiges of the ancient Empire, and the Roman name lives 
only in the history of the past, in the monuments of genius 
that have made the City of the Twins the shrine of art, the 
sanctuary of science and the throne of power. 

Yet amidst these mighty revolutions and vast up- 
heavals, the 'birth and death of nations, the origin and de- 
cay of peoples, the Jews have remained distinct and un- 
scathed, and, though small in numbers, have exerted an 
influence on the civilization of every land and left the im- 
press of their footsteps in every clime. Condemned to wear 
a peculiar garb, disfranchised, burdened with unjust taxa- 
tions, prohibited from social intercourse among them- 
selves, forbidden to read the Talmud, forced to hear 
Christian sermons, confined in the walled Ghettos from 
twilight till dawn, expelled from nearly every city in Italy, 
•burned by the Inquisition of Spain, banished from Portu- 
gal and their children taken from them, massacred in En- 
gland regardless of age and sex, persecuted in France, 
proscribed in Germany, the Jewish blood remains un- 
changed, and their sacred traditions are hallowed by all 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


23 


the centuries of their exile. They were the merchants, the 
bankers, the financiers of the world. Without them, the 
past history of commerce would be shorn of its glory. 
Proscribed in the land of the Goth, they seek refuge in 
the glimmer of the Crescent, mingle with the savage pi- 
rates and fierce Moors, and establish their temples in the 
shadow of the Mosque, unmolested by the swarthy sons 
of the desert. Their power flourishes' in the European 
dominions of the Ottoman Empire, and they appropriate 
the trade of the Levant. They pursue their traffic in 
Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Parma, Florence, Padua, Mantua, 
Leghorn, Cremona. 

The scions of the same blood, untrammeled by the 
gyves of bondage, developing their natural capacity, un- 
folding their God-given faculties, without restriction, 
without discrimination, have trodden the path of glory 
and established an empire grander than Chaldea and As- 
syria when Nineveh and Babylon adorned the valley of 
the Tigris and Euphrates, and when their brazen gates and 
minarets and spires glittered in the golden sheen of an 
oriental sky; grander than Egypt when her magnificent 
mausoleums were swept by the wandering clouds; grand- 
er than Greece when Helicon was the shrine of the Muse, 
and bards sought Parnassus to drink from Castalia’s crys- 
tal fountain; grander than Rome in the palmiest days of 
her strength and glory ; grander than Spain when the sun 
never set on her vast dominions; grander than France 
when the Corsican was crowned with the laurels of victory 
and the tricolor floated in triumph over fallen empires; 
grander than England to-day when her ships have broken 
the waves on every sea, and her sails have been unfurled 
beneath every sky. Released from captivity, the children 
of Israel determined to seek a retreat where they would 
not be molested by the armies of powerful nations. Achaz 
was their leader. He addressed the disciples of his creed 
and the brethren of his blood. 

“Lo! our fathers were enthralled in Egypt. Jehovah 
conducted our flight by day with the shadow of his wing, 
and illuminated our march at night with the glory of his 
countenance. We fought the Amelecites and Raphidim 
in the desert of Sin, and Moses and Aaron and Hur went 


74 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


to the top of the hill, and Moses lifted up his hands to 
heaven in prayer, and the hosts of Amalec were put to 
flight by the sword of Josua. Our army conquered Sehon, 
king of the Amorrhites, and overthrew Og, king of Basan. 
We were led across the Jordan into the Land of Promise, 
and miracles and victories crowned the march of Josua. 
Walled cities fell and hostile tribes vanished. Angels led 
our warriors to the battle fields, and God blessed our land 
with abundance. But great nations now beset us, and we 
have no Moses. Josua is dead, our valiant leaders are all 
gone, our people are divided, our land is cursed with 
abominations, our country is in the hand of strangers, 
our homes are in ruins, and we are forsaken by Jehovah. 
Let us, children of Abraham, abandon the land of our 
inheritance, and the graves of our sires, and seek conso- 
lation in the solitude of the forest, where no other nation 
dwells.” 

Thus spake Achaz, the leader of the tribes, and that 
mighty army went forth from the realms of the Assyrian 
in search of a new home, where they could erect their 
altars in peace, and please God with a pure sacrifice, un- 
molested by invasions from powerful chiefs and armed 
legions. Onward they moved in serried phalanxes along 
the shores of the Caspian Sea, over the steppes of Embim, 
across the Obi River and through the wilderness of the 
far north. Seven hundred years before, they had made 
their first Exodus from the empire of the Pharaohs, and 
it was nearly forty years before they reached the land over- 
flowing with milk and honey. It was just forty years from 
the time they left their captivity on the rivers of Babylon 
till they pitched their tents in the land of their dreams, the 
fair Utopia beyond the Arctic. In those remote days, the 
broad Continent of Asia stretched out in extent to the 
regions that lie northward of what is generally supposed 
by astronomers to be the pole of the earth. This world 
has existed in the dreams of poets and visionaries, and 
adventurous navigators have lost their lives in journeying 
'thither. They vainly thought that they were within a 
short distance of the north pole when they went beyond 
eighty degrees of latitude. The earth is not a spheroid. 
In the early history of the world, and as late as the era of 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


25 


Israel's second migration, the earth was in the form of a 
double sphere united at what is called by our geographers 
the north pole. In the days of Israel’s flight, the curva- 
ture of our part of the earth ceased at sixty-six degrees, 
the region of the Arctic Circle, the border of the north 
frigid zone, and there began a broad expanse of tableland, 
extending over an area of forty-six degrees. The winter 
nights of the Arctic region never fell on this immense 
plateau, though the winter days were of short duration. 
About six hundred years after the lost tribes arrived in the 
land of their destination, a mighty earthquake shook the 
polar world. Cataclysms followed the seismic convulsion, 
the waves rushed in from neighboring seas, and the Arctic 
Ocean was formed on the ruins of a lost land. 

Many times have continents vanished and reappeared 
in the geological history of the earth. There are 
chalk deposits in England, varying from several hun- 
dred to a thousand feet in thickness. This chalk 
area is found to extend from the western coast of 
Ireland, through England, Denmark, Germany, Po- 
land, Russia, along the coast of North Africa, to Ara- 
bia. Scientists have proved that chalk is formed of globi- 
gerena, the shells of a species of aquatic organisms. 
Hence, the sea must, at some time, have rolled its restless 
billows over central Europe from the western coast to 
Syria. But between the chalk are found strata of vege- 
table deposits, the trunks of trees, and hence we have evi- 
dence that the ocean receded again, and gardens flour- 
ished on the regions that were once swept by the waves. 
The story of the Lost Atlantis is familiar to the student of 
Plato, and what are all those islands of the deep but the 
remains of buried continents? Thus likewise perished 
the connecting link betwen us and the ultra-Arctic world. 
Thus was broken the relations between Israel and the rest 
of mankind, and thus originated those countries of the far 
north, where that genius and durability which character- 
ized the Jews amidst all the vicissitudes of ages and na- 
tions, have been emphasized in the foundation and devel- 
opment of a democracy that answers to all the dreams of 
reformers. 

The Israelites divided the land among themselves. 


a6 BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 

each taking a portion, and each country assuming the 
name of its tribe. There were yet vast tracts unoccupied, 
and disputes arose and wars were waged over the posses- 
sion of these common lands. Distinct religions grew up 
in the course of centuries, followed by distinct laws and 
constitutions. Persecution was often applied to quell in- 
ternal insurrections and defections from the established 
worship of each country. About four hundred years ago, 
Toadias, an adventurer, discovered a new world beyond 
the great ocean which formed the western boundary of 
the vast country first inhabited by the ten tribes. For 
nearly three hundred years this new world became the 
refuge of the oppressed in every land. It was called, in 
honor of its discoverer, Toadia. The kingdom of Dan be- 
gan to exercise a sovereignty over Toadia, and though 
frequently remonstrated with, she still continued to bur- 
den the infant nation with exorbitant taxation. In the 
Parliament of Dan, no representative of Toadia had a 
voice, no petitions were answered, no grievances were re- 
dressed, no pleading was recognized. Armed legions were 
billeted on the people to enforce the unjust legislation of 
the mother country, as she was called, and the goddess of 
Liberty that had led the oppressed children across the 
trackless waste of waves to the shores of the west, seemed 
destined to perish in the wilds of the New World, 


CHAPTER III. 

The Rochelle had met with many adventures on its 
way to the capital of North Toadia. When she was out 
about twenty days, a Danish man-of-war crossed her path 
and demanded her surrender, and the Irish being in no 
position to resist, were compelled to submit. A storm 
swept over the North Abraham Sea and almost demol- 
ished the rigging of the vessel. The Rochelle attempted 
to escape during one night from the custody of, the Danish 
ship, but her movements were detected and she was over- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


27 


taken. Finally a Toadian fleet of several vessels hove in 
sight, and the enemy abandoned its prey and sought 
safety in flight, and thus the Irish fell into the hands of 
their friends. Not knowing the mission of the Rochelle, 
or under what flag she sailed, for the banner of Erin was 
a mystery to the trans-arctic world, she was captured as a 
war prize. The Toadian seamen thought that the green 
flag represented some piratical nation from the distant 
islands of the Moabitic Sea, and they were determined 
to secure the booty on board. After thirty days on the 
deep, the Rochelle was towed into Baleh Bay, where 
Lidda could be seen in the distance. On reaching the 
wharf, the Irish were interrogated by the authorities, and 
having presented overtures of friendship, and given a 
reasonable account of their sudden appearance in this 
part of the world, they were allowed to disembark. The 
inhabitants thronged the dock to learn something of these 
strange visitants from the distant south, whence had wan- 
dered their ancestors to New Israel. James O’Malley, the 
best spokesman in the band, represented the company. 

‘‘We are Irishmen who were fighting for our freedom, 
and in attempting to escape from a superior force, we have 
drifted into this new world. We are your friends because 
you are fighting for a cause that has drained the blood of 
our country for six centuries ; and we are now ready to 
join your ranks and sacrifice our lives on the altar of 
liberty.*^ 

If angels had come down in visible forms from the 
clouds, it would not have been more sensational than the 
appearance of these visitants from the southern world. 
The traditions which had grown vague and misty in the 
lapse of ages were suddenly revived. In their escape from 
captivity, the lost tribes wished to isolate themselves for- 
ever, and when the Arctic Ocean was formed, convulsive 
sighs echoed through New Israel like the trumpet of doom, 
and the wanderers from the land of Ur, regarded this as 
a stroke of divine intervention, creating a barrier be- 
tween them and their foes. In the parliament of the 
nations, a law was early passed forbidding any one to 
navigate the Arctic Ocean farther than one thousand 
miles, that knowledge of their existence might forever 


28 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


remain a hidden mystery to the people of southern lands. 
Therefore, on that beautiful, balmy morning, when the 
Rochelle was towed up the Baleh Bay, many thought that 
the passengers were captured invaders. Others presumed 
that they were adventurers or discoverers who had braved 
the cold and clouds and winds and waves of the Black 
Ocean in quest of new worlds. Again there were not a few 
who revived the ancient traditions, now almost forgotten, 
that a Savior would come after some thousand years, and 
restore the tribes to the land of their ancestors, and make 
their empire the dominant power to rule all nations. It 
was deemed prudent not to trust the refugees with arms, 
until more should be known of their character, and, if 
possible, their antecedents. Hence, they were conducted 
to the barracks adjoining the city of Lidda, where they 
were royally entertained. Fort Bethel became the r^- 
dezvous of people of every description and disposition, 
all anxious to see and converse with the strange visitants. 
The Irish told them many amusing stories about their 
experience in the rebellion, and their pilgrimage to the 
land of Toadia. Nothing in the Arabian Nights could be 
more astonishing to the average American than these 
fictions sounded to the Toadians. Darby McKeown says 
that an Irishman must always be humbugging somebody, 
and if he can find no one else, “it is out of himself that he 
is taking rises.” 

Teddy Mahony related the story of the Irish giant. 
“In the arly days of our counthry, there was a man be the 
name of Fin McCoul. He was the biggest man that ever 
lived. He could crass the Irish Say in siven stips. Wan 
day it was very moody and as Fin was walking along, a 
pile of mood stuck to wan of his fate, and the hole made 
after that mood was gone, was called Lough Neigh, a 
lough twelve miles long. Sure, ye niver had a man that 
size in yeer counthry !” 

The Toadians now began to recall the story of giants 
recorded in their sacred books and in the memory of their 
great men, and thought, perhaps, that these visitors were 
the scions of the ancient Canaanites, who had come to 
their country as spies. A few suggested that they were 
emissaries from the land of Dan ; but this supposition was 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


29 


quickly dismissed, for the features, manners, customs and 
speech, truly indicated their origin. It was argued by 
the statesmen that it would not be safe to imperil the 
country by giving arms to these refugees, or to trust them 
with any confidence. But the Irish were as happy as 
larks to see that they had attracted so much attention. 
Bat McGraw kept the Toadians laughing by his eccen- 
tricities. 

“I am from the Lakes of Killarney, the most famous 
spot in the world. At the head of the upper lake is the 
Black Valley, where the devil held his court in the days of 
the Druids. And in this same valley is a great black 
stone, black as an ace of spades, and this is the stone that 
the auld boy threw at St. Patrick. The upper lake is two 
and a half miles long and contains four hundred and thirty 
acres, and Lough Leane covers five thousand acres. No- 
where in all the world have ye sech beautiful scenery. 
O'Sullivan’s cascade, leaping down the mountain side 
from rock to rock, is equal to the cascades of Switzer- 
land. Oh ! but you know nothing of Switzerland ! Well, 
it is the most picturesque country in the world, but it is 
only a bubble to Ireland. Now, I’ll tell yez something 
about the freaks of the auld lad in those quarters. One 
fine morning in January, the divil was out early looking 
for his gay birds, the landlords, and to warm his blood, 
he wanted a bit of punch, but he had no vessel to stir the 
ingredients. So in his mad spell, he takes a bite out of 
the mountain and threw it into the water, making a little 
island which is called Divil’s Bit Island. Thin he takes 
the hole which was created by the evacuation and he 
makes a punch-bowl, and this is known to this day as the 
Divil’s Punch-bowl.” 

Bat was followed by Jerry Sullivan, Dan Murphy and 
Tim Daley, who kept the Toadians amused and amazed. 
A consultation was held among the natives, and they 
concluded to give the Irish a chance in battle, as they 
seemed to be anxious to fight. They were consequently 
accoutred and assigned to their regiments, divided so that 
treason would be impossible. A few days afterwards, the 
Danites moved down on Bekek, took that place, which 
was without garrison, and marched on towards Tekoat. 


30 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


They were met by the Toadians, and a battle was im- 
minent. Jerry Sullivan was enlisted in the regiment un- 
der the command of General Asa. When Jerry saw the 
Danites, he said : 

“The dirty divils! and they are coming to take our 
country ! Sure, they are only a party of ragamuffins. Two 
hundred Irishmen, with shelalahs, would lather the life 
out of thim lads. They are the dead-spit of them cut- 
throat English that we have been fighting over there 
beyant the Black Ocean. If ye give us half a chance, 
we’ll be after flailing them blackguards till ye would hear 
them crying in London.” 

The Danites occupied an eminence, and the Toadians 
were necessitated to ascend a steep acclivity. General 
Asa gave the command to lie down, that the volleys from 
the enemies’ guns might pass over their heads. 

“Faith, I won’t thin !” said Jerry Sullivan. “I didn’t 
jine this regiment to lie down like a thieving coward, but 
to stand up and fight like a man. Troth, Gineral, if ye 
want to lie down, I’ll say nothing about it, but an Irish- 
man will never hide his head from thim infernal scoun- 
drels.” 

Shamus Mulligan ran to the front, waving the green 
flag, crying out, “Hurrah for ould Ireland !” Every son 
of Erin started in response to the slogan, and the brave 
refugees rushed up the steep ascent, into the very jaws of 
death. The Toadians were inspired by their valor, and in 
a wild, reckless, daring march, they gained the summit of 
the hill, to the amazement of the enemy, who fled panic- 
stricken from the field. 

The most magnificent victory of the campaign was 
won that day, with a very insignificant loss of life among 
the Toadians, and with terrible slaughter of the Danites. 
The news was heralded all over the country. The Irish 
soldiers were collected into one regiment and Martin 
Callihan was made General. This regiment mowed down 
the invader at Tirzot, Sharon, Jehud, Askalon, Ziglog, 
Berrl, Zablon, Zezreel and Sopan. Irishmen were se- 
lected as officers in many brigades, and they covered 
themselves with glory in every field of action, during the 
cruel and bloody war against the infant nation. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


3 * 


The government of Simeon recognized the indepen- 
dence of the country, sent a fleet to Toadian waters, dis- 
patched twenty-five thousand of the trained soldiers of 
the kingdom to fight the Danite forces on land, and in 
every way assisted the aspirants to liberty. Reuben ac- 
knowledged the Republic of Toadia, and sustained her 
acknowledgement with money, men and supplies. 
Ephraim, a little country that had been conquered, spoli- 
ated and persecuted by Dan for three centuries, poured 
out her columns to strengthen the Toadian battalions. 
Noblemen from Manasseh spent their fortunes and offered 
their lives for the freedom of the new Republic. 

Those determined hosts, fighting side by side in the 
jungles of the new world beyond the Abrahamic waves, 
appalled the Danish lords, who never dreamed of defeat. 
The invaders fell on the mountain crag and their blood 
ran in the valley. Every mead and grove was conse- 
crated by the goddess of victory, and the song of freedom 
echoed through every glade and dell, and was borne along 
by every brook and rill. Solomon and Abel, noble sons 
of persecuted Ephraim, poured forth their eloquence in 
defense of Toadian rights in the Danish Parliament. The 
trans-arctic world rejoiced in the humiliation of that 
brutal empire which had sucked the blood of the nations 
for a period of three hundred years. Misfortunes, re- 
verses, depressions on one side, triumph, successes, hope 
on the other, terminated in the disaster of Asad, when the 
Danish fleet was destroyed on sea and the Danish army 
annihilated on land. The flag of the monarch was hum- 
bled, and the flag of liberty floated proudly from every 
spire in the realm of Toadia. 

A constitution was drafted and adopted, giving to 
eevry citizen of the Republic the right of franchise. Each 
State should have its autonomy. The State Legislature, 
which enjoyed the prerogative of making the State laws, 
should consist of a house of Representatives and a house 
of Senators, both houses being chosen by the voters. 
Each county and municipality had the right to make de- 
crees governing local affairs. The national government 
consisted of two houses. The lower house was elected 
by the popular vote, and the upper house was chosen by 


32 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


the voice of the State legislatures. The President of the 
Republic was chosen by the electoral votes, there being 
as many electors as members in both houses of the Fed- 
eral Government. Congress, or the lower house, had the 
right to declare war and the President was commander- 
in-chief of the army and nation. In fact, the government 
of Toadia was in every particular the same as the United 
States. 

The Toadians were not the first inhabitants of the 
country, but they were preceded by a race of barbarians, 
whom they called the Scythians. These tribes, that roamed 
over this broad country, were friendly to the colonists 
from the land of New Israel, but the Danish spirit of con- 
quest and spoliation and brutality, had early engendered 
hostilities between the aborigines and the early immi- 
grants, and this spirit of avarice, inherited from the 
mother country, as Dan was called, grew, in the de- 
scendants of the pioneers, with the roll of the decades. 
The Scythians were pushed farther back into the wilder- 
ness ; their houses were burned, the graves of their sires 
were desecrated, their religious instincts were outraged, 
their warriors were massacred. The blood of the brave 
mingled with the mountain dust, the bones of fallen 
heroes bleached in the valleys, and the land of Toadia, 
from the Sea of Abraham in the east to the far-away 
cedars of Libanus in the west, became the cemetery of the 
conquered race. Well might the vanishing people weep 
over the loss of their happy hunting ground. 

Since the establishment of the Toadian Republic, the 
tide of immigration flowed over the western waves to that 
land of liberty. The sons of Ephraim, especially, took 
advantage of this asylum of peace and freedom, which 
their brethren had consecrated with their blood. Al- 
though a very small percentage of the inhabitants were 
of Danish origin, and this decreased every year, owing 
to the large influx from other Israelitic nations, yet a 
large portion of the people of Toadia generally boasted 
of their Danish blood, and the government usually dis- 
criminated against other powers in favor of the ancient 
foe. 

The knell of thralldom had scarcely sounded on the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


33 


western shores, when a spirit of unrest was felt abroad, 
and when the goddess of freedom was decked with the 
crown of liberty and enthroned in the national hall, a 
revolution subverted the empire of Simeon, which threw 
all Israel into the throes of war. Ozias, a mighty spirit, 
had swept away solid phalanxes at Rothman, Lattrice, 
Rama, Eher, overrun the empire of Zabulon, filled the 
vales of Sharon with consternation, demolished the throne 
of Prea, humbled the kings of the north, and threatened 
to invade Dan. Simeon sought the assistance of Toadia 
in the expedition, but the latter had already forgotten the 
service rendered by the former in the cause of its inde- 
pendence, and refused to participate in the struggle. A 
Danish spirit grew up in the nation which was manifested 
in the policy of every administration. Favors were con- 
stantly shown to Dan, and contempt was expressed for 
other kingdoms of New Israel. 

Dan, by her foreign acquisitions, was fast becoming 
the greatest power in the trans-arctic world. She had 
colonial possessions in the east and west, north and south. 
She was recognized as the queen of the ocean and mis- 
tress of the deep, and with a mighty standing army, she 
banished the eagle of liberty from every land where her 
flag was unfurled. Her purpose was to swoop down 
upon poor, defenseless savages, and infant nations, and 
whenever victory crowned the emblem of her dominions, 
she massacred the natives without regard to age, sex or 
condition. The cry of the mother, the wail of the widow 
weeping over the loss of her children in the fury of battle, 
the piteous pleading of orphans asking the Danish 
myrmidons to spare their lives and their homes, every 
voice of supplication was answered with a savage reply 
in the roar of the musket and the glitter of steel. Her 
pride was humbled in the successful insurrection of the 
Toadian colonies, and she long contemplated the destruc- 
tion of the youthful Republic. 

In i8io she proclaimed her complete dominion over 
the Sea of Abraham, and forbade the Toadian fleet to 
cruise in its waters. This brought the two powers into 
conflict on the deep. The Danish fleet, rejoicing in its 
marvelous strength, went forth in quest of the Toadian 


34 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


smacks, as they were sarcastically denominated, with the 
vain boast that the flag of this presumptuous nation would 
be torn in shreds, and the bodies of her marines would 
feed the denizens of the briny flood. The navies met, 
and the little fishing smacks sent broadsides into the iron- 
clad battle ships, swept away their masts, sails and rig- 
gings, pierced their mailed hulls and soon they suc- 
cumbed to the dash of the billows, and were sunk beneath 
the sea. 

In 1815 a wave of revolution swept over Central and 
Southern Toadia. These countries, long ruled by the 
monarchs of New Israel, inspired by the example of 
North Toadia, asserted their independence, which was 
recognized by the administration in Lidda. The next 
year the President, Jechonias, delivered a message in 
which he proclaimed that the Continent of Toadia should 
not, in the future, be considered as territory for coloniza- 
tion by any Israelitic power, and this proclamation be- 
came celebrated as the Jechonias doctrine. 

The institution of slavery had existed in Toadia from 
the earliest period of its existence. Men of an inferior 
race, known as Cushites, from the islands of the Chaldean 
Sea on the south of New Israel, had been imported and 
condemned to bondage. Although the lives of the slaves 
were protected by law, yet the master could exact obedi- 
ence and submission by the application of the lash, and 
perhaps there were not a few cases of cruelty. But the 
spirit of freedom, which characterized the pioneers of 
the land, which animated the authors of the Declaration 
of Independence, and was voiced in the formation and 
adoption of the Federal Constitution, which recognized 
the equality of all men ; the spirit of freedom, which had 
erected an empire in the wilderness, and consecrated it 
with the blood of heroes, could not tolerate this distinc- 
tion between master and slave. The thrall had been im- 
ported chiefly by the Southern States of the Republic, and 
they seemed to flourish in that climate. Statesmen began 
to agitate the question of thralldom, and they were di- 
vided in their views according to their sections. In the 
course of time, there was engendered a strong sectional 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 3$ 

sentiment, and there were frequent allusions to secession 
and rebellion on the part of the South. 

In 1826 the clouds of war gathered in the Southern 
skies, and the roll of thunder awakened the nation to a 
sense of imminent peril. The Republic was dismembered ; 
a confederacy was formed beyond the Mathan River, with 
its capital at Meron; the bugle call was sounded, and 
the gallant hosts of the Sunny South, clad in bright gray 
uniforms, armed with lance and spear and battle-ax, 
marched forth to the music of martial strains. Dan was 
not slow to see her opportunity. She furnished the 
swords for the soldiers of the Confederacy, sent ships to 
their assistance, decoyed, by floating the flag of a sup- 
posed friendly nation, and attacked and sunk vessels of 
the Federal Government, and then pusillanimously de- 
nied her responsibility. The war was brought to a suc- 
cessful termination after three years of carnage ; the flag 
of the Confederacy was hauled down from the walls of 
Meron, and the national emblem floated over the ruined 
cities of the South. The Union was preserved and 
strengthened, the slaves were disenthralled and enfran- 
chised, and the Republic of United Toadia wandered on 
the peaceful path of glory, rejoicing in the strength of 
the lion and the flight of the eagle, the emblem of her 
greatness. The Danish tiger was again disappointed, 
for he had hoped to see the dismemberment of the govern- 
ment, the fall of the Republic, and the conquest of the 
rival nations by the mailed legions of his realm. 

The Toadian nation became more cosmopolitan as the 
years rolled by. A strong influx of immigration from 
all the countries of the trans-arctic world, gave the com- 
plexion of the population all the hues that were present 
in Jerusalem on the first Christian penticost. There were 
people from Simeon and Reuben and Ephraim and Za- 
bolon and Manasseh and Nephthali and Cuchites from 
the Chaldean Islands, and Scythians, and the Irish 
refugees who came over the Black Ocean on the Rochelle. 
The sons of Erin adopted the customs of the country, and 
intermarried with the natives, and in the course of a few 
decades, there were thousands of that race in the Republic 
of Toadia. The characteristics of the Irish exiles had 


36 


BEYONK THE BLACK OCEAN 


been partially lost, though their traditions were still 
sacred. They were intensely resolute in their opposition 
to foreign domination, and would sacrifice the last drop 
of their blood in defense of home rule. 

Intermarriage with those of Israelitic origin had re- 
sulted in a slight modification of the Celtic names. It is 
not unusual to meet with Isaac O’Flaherty, Abraham 
O’Reilly, Benjamin Fitzpatrick, Moses McGillicuddy, 
Aaron McGinty, Ebenezer O’Mulligan, Patrick Einstein, 
Teddy Rosenheimer, Maurice Lovenhart, Larry Jonas, 
Bat Semisheimer, Biddy Nyburgher. The descendants of 
the Irish are, like their ancestors, fond of politics, and 
they hold many important positions of trust. There are 
among them. Congressmen, Senators, judges, ambassa- 
dors, cabinet officers, diplomatists, generals, admirals, and 
some are employed on the police force. Many customs 
of English-speaking nations had been introduced by the 
Irish, and adopted by the natives. The monetary systems 
of different southern countries had been considered, the 
French frank, the Italian lire, the German mark, the 
English pound and shillings ; but the trans-arctic natives 
were better pleased with the simplicity of the American 
system, and, at an international convention, this system 
was universally adopted, and our dollars have supplanted 
the Israelitic pecuniary denominations. 

Our trans-arctic acquaintances are in every respect 
similar to the people on this part of the earth. The same 
passions and prejudices actuate them. The same ambi- 
tions, love of wealth, glory, renown, characterize their 
history. They differ, as we have already stated, in their 
religious convictions, and persecutions have been inflicted 
in the cause of truth and for the glory of the Creator. The 
old synagogue has lost its prestige in many countries, and 
reformations have swept it out of others. Reuben, Simeon, 
Asher and Ephraim, still profess the Hebrew creed. Dan, 
Zabulon and other countries have lost faith in the prom- 
ises of Abraham, and have adopted the new religion, 
which they call the Gentile Church, in contradistinction 
to the Israelites. The Gentile Church has changed ma- 
terially since its formation, and many sects have arisen 
within the past four centuries. The republics of South 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 37 

and Central Toadia still adhere to the Hebrew traditions, 
but Gentilism is the dominant creed in the north. 


CHAPTER IV. 

Isaac Gilhooley was a descendant of Patrick Gilhooley, 
who had crossed the Black Ocean in the Rochelle. His 
grandfather had fought with distinction in the war which 
had achieved the independence of Toadia, and again sig- 
nalized himself in the clash brought about by the preten- 
sions of Dan to the individual ownership of the Sea of 
Abraham. His wather was an officer in the Confederate 
army in the rebellion of 1826. The Irish fighting blood 
rolled in the veins of Isaac Gilhooley, and his belligerent 
propensities were not altered by two generations of re- 
frigeration in the trans-arctic world, nor by the amalga- 
mation of his stock with the phlegmatic scions of Israel. 
His mother was the only daughter of a wealthy banker, 
Jerry Rosenthal, who resided in Engeddi, the most cul- 
tured city in the western world. Louise Rosenthal was 
the belle of her native State, and her name was an open 
sesame to every levee in the land. Her education received 
the most considerate attention. She went to the best 
schools of Toadia, and was afterwards sent abroad to min- 
gle with the leading society in the most polished cities of 
the New Israel empires, and to study art and music in the 
capital of Simeon. 

On the ship she met Moses Gilhooley, the father of 
our hero. Mutual admiration drew them often together, 
and the acquaintance ripened into affection and pledges 
of love. They traveled in the same party for several 
months through the old world. When Louise reached 
Rubek, she matriculated in the conservatory of music, 
and was consigned to the custody of a noble matron who 
had charge of the ladies" department. Moses represented 
a large firm in the city, and, of course, he had frequent 
opportunities of visiting hisi fair dulcinea. Two years 


38 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


passed most happily for the enamored youths dwelling 
alone in the realms of love, dreaming dreams of glory, 
building crystal palaces and enshrining their affection on 
golden thrones. 

It was now the end of the term and Jerry Rosenthal 
sent his daughter a purse to procure her graduating ap- 
parel. It was the month of July, 1833. Rubek, the gayest 
city in the world, the city of lovely parks and boulevards, 
of limpid fountains and stately palaces, was clad in gala 
robes. It was the anniversary of the birth of Ozias, the 
founder of the Simeon republic. The city was filled with 
Toadian guests, who sympathized with their sister Re- 
public, and venerated the name of the hero who had de- 
molished thrones and obliterated empires. The Conser- 
vatory of Music decided to have the exhibition exercises 
the evening preceding the anniversary, and Jerry Rosen- 
thal was to be present and see the triumph of his daughter. 

The train reached Rubek at about six o’clock in the 
evening. Mr. Rosenthal went to a hotel for supper, and 
immediately afterwards proceeded to the Academy of 
Music. An immense audience thronged the hall. Par- 
ents proud to hear their children perform in the presence 
of such a distinguished assemblage ; brothers' anxious to 
witness the public applause rendered to their sisters ; gay 
young beaux holding beautiful bouquets for their af- 
fianced ; all swelled the great auditorium, and were wait- 
ing for the curtain to rise to behold the triumphs of their 
darlings and give vent to expressions of approval. Mr. 
Rosenthal looked for his daughter, who presently ap- 
peared, and was accorded repeated encores for her ex- 
quisite renditions. The evening was one prolonged con- 
quest for the maid of Engeddi. 

When the exercises closed, the honors were awarded 
by the director of the academy, who said in his introduc- 
tory remarks, “We have this evening been regaled by the 
most brilliant exhibition in the history of this institution, 
and we are proud to see the interest manifested by this 
concourse of people, who not only represent the artistic 
genius of this realm, but the refinement of other nations. 
Rubek has long been the home of culture. It surpasses 
in art the fabulous traditions that have been transmitted 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 39 

through the dim and distant centuries by antiquarians, 
poets and authors of romance, respecting the glories of 
Athens when she was the shrine of the Grecian Muse. 
Whether these stories be true or false, or whether there 
be in that world beyond the waves of the Black Ocean, a 
land of buried splendor which lives only in the song of 
the bard, is a mystery which must be solved by the scien- 
tists of the future. 

“Yet, even presuming that the dreams of Homer and 
Hesiod are realities, they af¥ord no themes of admiration 
to the nations of the trans-arctic world. We have trod all 
the paths of fame, fathomed all the depths of lore, scaled 
all the heights of glory, opened all the.treasures of art, 
mastered all the mysteries of science. We have reached 
the goal of civilization, and the children of unborn gen- 
erations will enshrine the memory of this age in the tem- 
ple of song. Arion has wandered from Lesbos, and built 
his throne in the heart of Rubek. Our fountains have 
been consecrated by the touch of Apollo’s magic breath, 
and Calliope has encircled our brow with Bernice’s golden 
locks. 

“We are glad that our sister Republic beyond the 
waters sends her daughters to the Parnassus of Simeon, 
to drink the hallowed stream of inspiration, and we re- 
joice that a child of far-famed Engeddi has won. the medal 
of honor in the graduating exercises of this evening. We 
present her to-night, crowned with the halo of victory, 
clad in nuptial wreath and bridal robes. To-day she was 
led by a young Toadian to the altar of Hymen, where their 
love was consecrated by the benediction of the Church. 
We have the supreme pleasure of inviting you to extend 
your congratulations to her gallant young husband, who 
distinguished himself as an officer in the Southern Con- 
federacy, and we ask you to rejoice with the daughter of 
Mr. Rosenthal, who is-now Mrs. Gilhooley.” 

Mr. Rosenthal was astonished, nay, appalled-, to hear 
the awful tidings of a marriage between his beloved 
daughter, and the descendant of an Irish refugee. He 
sorang to his feet and vociferated that it was false. 

“You calumniate my child ! She is not married. It is 
impossible. She would" not dare contract matrimonial af- 


40 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


finity with any one without my knowledge and approval.” 

Louise fainted, and was carried off the stage, but soon 
recovered, then swooned again, and again revived. The 
father rushed behind the scenes and folded his darling in 
his arms. 

“O Louise ! Louise ! have you betrayed my confidence, 
and tarnished my name and the honor of your family, by 
giving your hand and heart to a plebeian ? Do you not 
know that the blood of kings flows in your veins? You 
can trace your ancestry back to the reign of Jeroboam, 
and have you stained that noble lineage by condescending 
to be the wife of a proletary ? I know,” the father raved 
incoherently, ‘T know the young man who has robbed me 
of my child. He is a Confederate officer, and has no more 
idea of honor than his low-bred sire who unsheathed the 
sword in defense of another rebellion.” 

“Yes,” cried Gilhooley, “your daughter has pro- 
nounced the vows of everlasting fidelity to me, and I have 
taken her under the protection of my name, a name that is 
clothed with venerable antiquity. My maternal ancestors 
sat on the throne of Iberia long before the lamentations 
of the rebellious tribes echoed through the vales af As- 
syria, long before the renegade King of Israel erected 
idols in Bethel and Dan ; long before the temple of Solo- 
mon became the pride of Judea; long before the children 
of Abraham journeyed to the City of David to lay their 
vows before the altar of God and offer incense, sacrifice 
and prayer through the meditation of the Aaronitic piest- 
hood. My sires were the Ardrighs of Scotia and reigned in 
Tara’s hall. My forefathers fought the Dane and the Nor- 
man, and never fled from their land to shun the dangers of 
war and the privations of captivity, like the dastardly Is- 
raelites. I married Louise because I love her better than 
my life and soul, but I regret that she is the daughter of 
a varlet, with exalted pretensions.” 

“Begone from my presence!” cried Rosenthal to 
Louise. “To-day I disinherit you. To-day you relin- 
quish your patrician rank, and sink to the level of the 
common herd. To-day you are banished from my home 
and family, and henceforth, I shall obliterate your name 
and bury your memory. If your proud, noble mother 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 4 1 

could arise from the chamber of death, and see her de- 
graded child, she would sink back palsied at the sight. 
Your brother shall become sole heir of my wealth. Be- 
gone, child of perdition, daughter of infamy, and seek con- 
solation in the embraces of this vile cad !” 

Rosenthal immediately departed from the scene, re- 
turned to the hotel, and made preparations to leave for 
Toadia. Louise was prostrated with grief. She was in- 
sanely fond of Moses, and knowing that her father would 
never sanction her marriage with a Confederate soldier 
whom he hated, she contracted clandestinely with the hope 
that he would condone her transgression in the triumph 
of her genius, grace and beauty at the Academy of Music. 
But she had not correctly estimated the haughty disposi- 
tion of Jerry Rosenthal, who had intended his daughter to 
adorn, with her accomplishments, the castle of a baron. 
Moses Gilhooley was more to her, however, than home 
and a father’s love, and she endured, with patience and 
fortitude, the curse of her sire. The young couple lived 
in Rubek for two years, enjoying every comfort and plea- 
sure their means and the society of refined associates 
could afford. 

In October, 1834, the birth of a child crowned their 
nuptial bliss. In honor of her maternal grandfather, 
Louise called her son Isaac. Little did she dream when 
she first smiled on the face of her infant that his life would 
be a contradiction. Early the next spring Mr. and Mrs. 
Gilhooley left Simeon for their native country, where 
Moses was to occupy the first position in the electric light 
company, which he had represented for the past four 
years in the old world with distinguished ability, enhanc- 
ing, thereby, three-fold the trade and profits of the firm. 

On the 2 1 St of April the train- for the seashore steamed 
out of the Oriental depot at the south side of Rubek, and 
the son of the Irish hero of the revolution smiled in the 
face of his darling wife, who held their cooing babe in her 
arms. The morning was serene, not a cloud floated bn the 
purple sheen of heaven. The fields wore the verdant garb 
of youthful Spring. Nature pulsated with new-born life. 
The snow-clad vales and storm-swept hills of the brumal 


42 


beyond the black ocean 


season had passed away, and the earth smiled with ra- 
diant hues. 

“Nature,” said Louise, ‘‘reminds us of our fortunes 
in life’s toilsome path. The fragile lilies fall beneath the 
blighting breath of the hoar-frost and the ruthless march 
of the north-wind. They sleep the sleep of silence, and 
nature mourns their loss ; but in the sweet zephyrs of the 
south sea, they inhale new life and arise to gladden this 
world with their innocent smiles. So it is with man. 
Clouds gather on our horizon, and roll across the azure 
depths of heaven, till no rays of sunshine tinge the tree- 
tops, and dance on the rippling streams and move along 
the babbling brooks. The storm bursts forth with the 
fury of demons. The elements blaze with the flames of 
fire, and the artillery of the heavens proclaim the ven- 
geance of the gods. The gale sweeps on with its vapory 
columns charged with bolts of death, the shadows vanish 
in the sky, and the king of light and glory drives his 
golden car across the purple vault. 

“Phoebus paints the orient with crimson hues, wheels 
along through aerial zones, smiles on mountain-tops and 
green-robed vales, and sends his shafts of golden light o’er 
waving meads and fields of yellow grain. The faint light 
of infant morn culminates in the splendors of noontide 
glory, and the rays of the westerning sun and the fiery 
flood of waning day, sink into the twilight shadows, and 
are soon lost behind the sable curtains of night. But the 
auroral blush of maiden day sweeps along the realms of 
shadows, and the sleeping world awakes to the realities 
of life. The history of the human race is made up of sun- 
shine and shadow, and a throb of joy crowns every pang of 
grief. 

“When my father renounced me in the presence of that 
cultured assembly, because I dared to give my heart to 
the one whom I loved so dearly, I felt, for the first time, 
the sword of sorrow piercing my young bosom. But 
through the shadows there was a rift, and hope lay be- 
yond the golden-tinged clouds. Our love has been blessed 
with every joy. The little arms of Isaac entwine around 
our necks, and his prattle and smiles banish every gloom 
and fill our souls with every bliss. You have been success- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


4.1 


ful in your business, and when we return to our land, and 
look upon the glittering stars, can we not say that the 
patriarchs and prophets of Israel, enthroned amidst the 
purple light, have guided our footsteps across the troubled 
waves, as of old Jehovah led the chosen hosts through 
flood and over desert wastes to the fertile plains and vine- 
clad hills of Canaan?” 

They reached the city of Ser on the western coast of 
Simeon, and took passage on the ship Damascus, bound 
for Deboreh, the metropolis of the New World. The 
gangway was removed, the cables unfastened, the vessel 
weighed anchor, and spread her sails, and a thousand 
voices cried good-by, and a thousand handkerchiefs 
waved, and banners floated, and sobs were loud, and 
moaning rent the air, and tears flowed down the furrowed 
faces of the old and the dimpled cheeks of youth, as the 
mighty steamer cleft the surge and glided down the bay. 

“Ah!” said Louise, “does this not remind you of the 
Judgment Day, when fathers shall be separated from their 
children, husbands from their wives, sisters from their 
brothers?” 

“Yes,” said Moses. “But that day shall be ushered in 
by the demolition of nature’s laws. The earth shall heave 
with convulsive sighs, the deep shall boil and rage, and 
the waves shall mingle with the clouds. The sun shall be 
darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the 
stars shall fall from the heavens and the powers of the 
heavens shall be moved. Whereas now these relations 
and friends part with the choicest blessings of nature to 
alleviate the desolation of their hearts, and in many cases 
with hope of meeting again before they reach the end of 
life’s toilsome journey; and, I presume, they all expect to 
be re-united when they cross the gulf of death, and stand 
before the jasper throne, where the God of our fathers 
crowns His children with the diadem of immortality.” 

“Yes, Moses, I thoroughly understand the difference; 
but are you not quoting from the Christian Bible when 
you speak of the vanishing of the moon and the falling of 
the stars?” 

“These signs are substantially expressed in your 
books. Isaias refers to thunders, earthquakes, flames. 


44 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


whirlwinds and tempests; and Amos calls it a day of 
wrath, tribulation and distress; a day. of calamity and 
misery; a day of darkness and obscurity. And these 
prophecies are contained in your version and occupy a 
high place among your canonical works. Joel confirms 
these vaticinations, and while it is supposed that he wrote 
after the departure of your ancestors from Babylonian 
captivity, or, if at an earlier period, his book has not been 
incorporated in your canon, yet he was a prophet of Judea, 
and is worthy of credulity. Israel and Judea were equally 
the chosen people of God, and the voice of inspiration di- 
rected the councils of the Abrahamic race, whether offer- 
ing sacrifice in the temple of Solomon, or burning incense 
on the altar of Bethel. The Christians who accepted the 
teachings of the Nazarene, collected the books of Israel 
and Judea into the ancient Testament, which they hold, 
contains the promises that were to be realized in the birth 
of the Messiah, the Redeemer, not only of your race, but 
the Gentile nations. The disciples of the new religion 
wrote a history of the life and teachings of their Founder, 
under the name of the Gospels and Epistles of the New 
Testament, and these works were brought hither by the 
little band of Irish refugees in 1799. I learned the doctrine 
of Christ from the lips of my father, and I look upon the 
birth of Bethlehem’s Babe as the realization of Israel’s 
dreams; and hence it is not strange that I should value the 
New Testament as highly as the Old. In fact, the former 
is the substance, the latter the figure. The promises were 
made to Abraham, and they were fulfilled in Christ. The 
Gentiles have inherited the land of your ancestors, and 
the visions of the desert and the dreams of the ancient 
seers, have glorified the world in the promulgation of a 
new law, and the nations of the earth have been redeemed 
in the blood of the Savior typified in the paschal lamb. In 
speaking of the Israelites, I use the pronoun in the second 
person, since my paternal ancestors belonged to the Gen- 
tile race and I am half Christian.” 

Louise admired the tenets of Christianity, because they 
were permeated by the spirit of love, but she could not 
reconcile the prophetic utterances of the Old Testament, 
dilating on the national exaltation of Israel into a world- 


BEYOND THE BLACE OCEAN 


4S 


wide power, with the total demolition of the lines of de- 
markation between the chosen people and the Gentile 
race, and the complete absorption of the latter by the 
former, so as to form but one united, universal empire of 
spirituality. 

Four days had passed since they embarked, and there 
was not a single incident to mar the pleasure of the home- 
ward voyage. Often they sat and watched the foaming 
billows as they swelled and broke on the liquid expanse, 
and the whales sporting in the distance, and the porpoises 
floating on the crested waves, and phosphoric scintilla- 
tions sparkling in the nocturnal gloom that brooded over 
the deep. They frequently recalled their first meeting on 
the water a few years before, when they were gazing at a 
passing ship. 

“Doyou remember,” said Louise, ^'that beautiful after- 
noon as I was leaning against the railing of the deck, and 
you smiled so blandly and offered me the use of your 
glass?” 

“Yes,” returned Moses, tenderly, “but we never 
dreamed at that moment that our lives would be so in- 
separably interlinked in the near future. I did not think, 
then, that I would ever see you after we disembarked.” 

The moon had risen, and her soft beams fell directly 
on the path which the keel of the ship had cut through the 
waters. Standing on the aft deck, they gazed on the broad 
track which glittered and sparkled like a street of sapphire. 
At a late hour they retired, and in a few minutes were lost 
in slumber, and wandered in sweet dreams through the 
golden palace of bliss which their youthful fancies had 
built of future years. A heavy fog had settled over the 
sea. The fog horn blew, and many woke at the first sound, 
but being reassured that there was no danger, fell again 
into refreshing sleep. The hours passed away and the 
unconscious dreamers were as silent as the inmates of the 
tomb. Crash! Crash! Crash! Screams echoed from 
every cabin. Shrieks and wails were heard. 

“We are lost!” cried a hundred voices. “The shio is 
sinking! There has been a collision. Our vessel is riven 
She is struck amidship by the bow of another steamer. 


i 


46 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


Lower the life-^boats! Get the passengers on deck. Fly 
and give the alarm!” 

In less than five minutes every living person was on 
deck, but many had been crushed by the concussion, for 
the vessel had been cut in twain. Louise awoke with 
alarm, and noticed her husband carrying her and her 
sweet babe in sheets to the upper deck. A terrible strug- 
gle ensued. Men and women were fighting to get into 
the life-boats. Weapons were savagely used, pistols were 
fired, sailors, forgetting their duty in the hour of peril, 
sought to save their own lives, and brained those who 
stood in the way. Moses pushed forward with his charge. 
The throng surged and swayed. Here one trying to get 
into the boat fell into the water; here another was pushed 
overboard; a third one was struck with a hatchet, a fourth 
stabbed. Louise and Isaac were safely placed in the boat, 
but exhausted by his superhuman effort, Moses fell back 
into the waves, and, in the darkness of night, was seen no 
more. 

The gray dawn peered through the clouds of the ori- 
ent. The morning sun rose on the wreck. A few floating 
planks, a few chairs here and there, were all that could be 
seen. The steamer had sunk. Some had saved their lives, 
but many slept to wake no more. Louise looked for her 
husband. He could not be seen, and she supposed that he 
had perished. She was cold, hungry and frantic with 
grief. A young widow, with an infant child, banished 
from the home of her parents, what would she do? Oh, 
if the angry waves would engulf them, that she and her 
babe might join the lost beyond the skies! 


CHAPTER V. 

The third day after the wreck, Louise and her com- 
panions descried the mast of a vessel sailing toward the 
west. In less than an hour the steamer had reached the 
few life-boats that were seen floating within a circum- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


47 


ference of many miles, but others had drifted far away and 
could not be seen. Louise and her baby were now safe, 
but the heart of the mother was sad and lonely. Would 
she visit the home of her childhood, and ask her father’s 
pardon? Would he condone her trangression, and recog- 
nize his daughter and the child of Moses Gilhooley, the 
Confederate officer? If she were repulsed by her stern 
sire, she resolved to seek refuge with the grandparents of 
her babe. The ship reached Deboreh, and thousands of 
people lined the water’s edge to greet their returning 
friends. But no face smiled on Louise, for none knew 
her. Her coming was not heralded, and even if the in- 
formation had been imparted, she would expect to see no 
one from her father’s roof, for her name was forgotten 
there. 

She went from the dock to the depot, and took the 
first train to Engeddi, where she arrived early in the 
afternoon. She engaged a carriage and immediately pro- 
ceeded to her father’s home. How familiar was the old 
place! The tall pines and cedars that adorned the lawn 
waved their graceful branches as if in welcome, and 
seemed to speak to her of the happy days of youth, when 
she romped with her brother in their inviting shades. 
Ascending the broad, stone steps, she rang the bell, and 
waited in breathless anxiety for the response. Soon the 
door was opened, and a servant politely inquired whom 
she wished to see. How strange those words sounded in 
her ears I She did not know this servant, for many 
changes had taken place in the domestic affairs since her 
departure for Simeon ; yet to be treated as a visitor in 
the house where she had once reigned as a queen, was 
more than Louise could bear. In her indignation, she 
said : 

“1 wish to see my father.” 

“Your father?” repeated the servant, in surprise, for 
as she had come from a small town in the State, and had 
been but a week in the employment of Mr. Rosenthal, 
she did not know he had a daughter. 

“Yes, my father,” said Louise. “Go and tell my 
father that Louise is here.” 

The domestic left the widowed mother in the hall. 


48 BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 

and announced her arrival to the lord of the mansion. 

“A young woman downstairs requested me to say to 
you that Louise wishes to see her father.” 

'‘Louise wishes to see her father ! Is it possible that 
she returns to me, after what she has done to tarnish my 
name?” and Mr. Rosenthal hurried downstairs to ascer- 
tain the truth of the servant’s announcement. When he 
beheld the form of his visitant in the corridor, with an 
infant in her arms, and aproaching, looked into the care- 
worn face of his only daughter, he said : 

“Well, madam, what can I do for you?” And before 
she had time to respond, he continued : “If you are seek- 
ing employment, I will inform you that I have as many 
domestics as my premises require, and if you are begging 
alms, I notify you to present yourself to the charity in- 
stitutions of this city.” And turning, he walked deliber- 
ately away. 

Louise gave vent to her feelings in a flood of tears, 
exclaiming, with heart-rending sobs: 

“O, father! father! how can you ignore the presence 
of your child ?” And seizing his arm, she cried : “Father, 
I ask your pardon. Do not crush me vy^ith your hatred ! 
We were shipwrecked seven days ago, and my husband 
was lost. I have come to my home, the home of my child- 
hood, the home consecrated by a mother’s love, and ask 
you, father, not to forget the days of my infancy, the 
years of my youth, when I was your pride and your joy. 
If I have sinned, remember my innocence. Remember 
my mother. Recall how she loved me, how you and she 
built your hopes in my promising life. Father, O, father, 
pardon my only offense, my only act of disobedience! 
Have pity on your widowed daughter and her fatherless 
child!” 

But the old man was inexorable. 

“Ah, madam, you betrayed my confidence once ; you 
gave me a fatal stab in the presence of that cultured as- 
semblage in the hall of the Music Academy in Rubek. I 
returned home with a sad and broken heart. Within one 
wttk after my arrival I was overwhelmed by the sudden 
death of Benjamin, my son and heir.” 

“Benjamin dead!” exclaimed Louise. “O, my poor 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


49 


brother! How can I endure the sorrow that has fallen 
upon me I My husband and my only brother dead, and 
1 banished from the home of my father !” 

“Yes, banished forever! Had Benjamin lived, there 
might have been some distant hope for you, when my in- 
fluence over him had perished in my death. Being left 
alone in the world by the sad fate of my son, I wooed 
and won the heart of a lovely maiden, and now my prop- 
erty shall descend into another line, and your hopes are 
forever destroyed,” and saying this he disengaged him- 
self from her grasp, opened the door and bade her good- 
day in cold, formal, haughty tones. 

Louise descended the steps and walked slowly to the 
carriage. As it was passing down the avenue, she heard 
a familiar voice, and looking around, she saw Aunt 
Martha, the old nurse who had rocked her cradle, and who 
had been an attache of the mansion for more than a quar- 
ter of a century. Aunt Martha threw her arms around 
the young widow, and embraced her affectionately, cry- 
ing: 

“O, Miss Louise ! Lm so glad to see you ! When did 
you return ? Why are you leaving so soon ? Surely you 
are going to stay with us ?” 

“No,” said Louise, sadly; “I am disinherited by my 
father, and he has coldly, cruelly banished me from the 
parental hearthstone.” She then related her misfortunes, 
beginning with her marriage, which was known to Aunt 
Martha, though the faithful domestic was not cognizant 
of the unpleasant results of her connubial alliance. The 
nuptials had been announced in the society papers of 
Engeddi ; but Mr. Rosenthal had never adverted to the 
marriage. When the old nurse heard of the shipwreck 
and the fate of Mr. Gilhooley, she went into hysterics. 

“How unfortunate ! Poor Benjamin also perished in 
the water. One bright afternoon he went down to the 
beach to enjoy the surf, and venturing too far, he was 
carried away by the current and lost his life struggling 
with the breakers. When he was brought home, Mr. 
Rosenthal was prostrated with grief, and his friends 
thought that he would succumb to the shock. His life 
was in danger for two weeks, and then he began to re- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


SO 

cover. In less than three months after, he was married 
to Miss Rosaline Romeyer. People said that she married 
him for his wealth, and indeed it seems that they were not 
disappointed. She never enjoyed social distinction pre- 
vious to her marriage with your father, and now you 
would imagine that she was the scion of an ancient house. 
She assumes all the airs of the noblesse, and her arrogance 
is almost intolerable. No doubt she has poisoned your 
father against you, for she wishes, I am sure, to exclude 
you from your inheritance. But, my child, do not lose 
courage. Brighter days will dawn upon your life. You 
have a host of friends who will extend their good wishes, 
and welcome you to their homes. Besides, I know that 
your father will relent in the course of time, and enthrone 
you again in his affections.” 

Louise thanked Martha for her kind words, kissed her 
good-by, and bade the coachman to drive to the Union 
depot, where she took the first train for Meron, the home 
of the Gilhooleys. It was early the next afternoon when 
she reached her destination. She experienced no diffi- 
culty in ascertaining information about the residence of 
Mrs. Patrick Gilhooley, the aged mother of the gallant 
Confederate officer, who had won immortal glory fighting 
for the rights of the Southern people. The sudden ap- 
pearance of Louise was a surprise to her mother-in-law, 
for the venerable matron had read of the disaster on the 
deep, and she had previously learned from her son that 
he would sail on that vessel. The papers had announced 
the list of passengers, all of whom, it stated had perished, 
except a few that had taken refuge in the life-boats. Mrs. 
Gilligan had appeared, by mistake, in the columns of the 
press, among the names of those who had been rescued, 
and, of course, Mrs. Patrick Gilhooley, not correcting the 
error, and failing to identify this name with her daughter- 
in-law, concluded that the trio had been lost. It was the 
first time that the young widow had met her husband’s 
mother, and the latter impressed Louise as the noblest 
of women. 

“My child,” she said to the unfortunate girl, “this is 
your home. Take the place of my son, and comfort my 
declining years with your bright smiles and youthful 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 5 I 

voice and cheerful disposition. We will live together as 
iiiothiT and daughter, and watch with joy the growth and 
development of our little babe, the child of your husband 
and my son. In this little cherub our hearts will center, 
and our affections will wax warm with his increasing 
years.’’ 

Louise accepted the hospitality of the noble matron, 
and daughter and mother mingled their tears and smiles 
in their sorrows and in their joys. Isaac gave promise 
of being an honor to the family and no labor was spared 
in the development of his marvelous genius. At an early 
age, he was sent to the best schools in Meron, where he 
distinguished himself by his mental powers and his close 
assiduity to his studies. When fourteen summers had 
passed over his head, Isaac was matriculated in the State 
University, one of the best known institutions of learning 
in the Republic of North Toadia. Within its hallowed 
walls many of the great men of the nation had been edu- 
cated, and going forth from that sacred retreat, they be- 
came leaders in every department of lore. 

Isaac won the highest honors in his studies every year, 
and the professors predicted that he would rank with the 
first scholars of the age. At eighteen he graduated in 
the scientific course, and immediately adopted the pro- 
fession of law. While pursuing his legal studies, he be- 
came intensely absorbed in the economic questions of the 
day. He had perused the histories of all nations, and was 
thoroughly familiar with the records of those empires, 
whence his grandfather had migrated a half a century 
previously. The works of Mr. Flynn, who had crossed 
the Black Ocean in the Rochelle in 1779, had been repub- 
lished in the various tongues of the trans-arctic world, 
and numerous copies were found in every city of the 
Toadian Republic. This collection embraced, besides the 
works of the ancient fathers of the Christian Church, the 
w^orks of the best historians of all nations and all ages. 

Isaac Gilhooley had made a study of these valuable 
books. Often he had wandered in fancy through those 
dim and distant centuries, and repeopled the silent ages 
with the grand monuments that their civilization had 
left to perpetuate their memory. He became familiar with 


52 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


the buried empires that had flourished on the borders of 
the Nile, the Euphrates and by the waves of the Persian 
Gulf. In dreams he would visit Palmyra of the desert, 
and meditate with Volney upon the revolutions and ruins 
of the past. He flung out upon the desert the voice of 
civilized man, touched those solitudes with the magic 
wand, and saw the moss-covered ruins of the ages leap 
forth into new creations. He saw again the thousand 
thriving hamlets and villages, populous towns and mag- 
nificent cities, adorned with regal halls and stately pal- 
aces and majestic temples. He visited the marts and em- 
poriums of the Orient that have been forgotten in the roll 
of ages. He studied the history of the Grecian Repub- 
lics, and the lives of the great men who made the Ionian 
isles the sweet shrine of song. He read the origin of the 
vast Roman Empire, and watched the flight of its eagles 
from the cedars of Libanus to the rock-bound coast of 
Albion. He became familiar with the glory of Carthage 
and the conquest of her heroes. He viewed the com- 
mencement of the Mohammedan domination on the arid 
plains of Arabia, and followed the legions of the Prophet 
across the sandy desert, till his emblem was recognized 
throughout western Asia. He saw the dusky warriors 
sweeping over northern Africa like the withering, scorch- 
ing simoon, leaving naught in their wake but smoking 
ruins and bloody streams. He followed the path of the 
Goth over the rocks of the Pyrenees, the summit of the 
Alps, the crags of the Apennines ; he beheld, in visions, 
the migration of the Cimbri, the Teutons and the Huns, 
the Scythians, the Vandals and the mighty army of tur- 
bulent barbarians that rolled down from the frozen shores 
of the Baltic to the verdant hills laved by the crested bil- 
lows of the Mediterranean. He watched the foundation of 
European monarchies, the fall of the throne by the shores 
of the Tiber, where the Caesars had been crowned the 
sovereigns of the world. He saw the establishment of 
the Byzantine Empire on the shores of the Bosphorus, 
and heard the tramp of the Arabian war-steeds amidst 
the ruins of Grecian liberty, and the rise of the Ottoman 
power in Europe and the glimmer of the Crescent on the 
waves of the Hellespont. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


S3 


He, also, studied the history of the trans-arctic world, 
and became familiar with the causes that enhanced the 
wealth and glorified the nations of New Israel, and he 
perceived that these causes were everywhere the same. 
He beheld Dan, on the borders of the western ocean, lead- 
ing the countries of the North ; Reuben sending forth her 
legions to the shores of the New World ; Simeon climbing 
the snow-capped summits of intelligence, guiding the na- 
tions in the flight of genius ; Zabulon, Asher, Nephthali, 
shedding glory on the triumphs of civilization. He no- 
ticed that poverty kept apace with progress, and as na- 
tions became wealthy, the masses were oppressed. He 
had read the “Wealth of Nations,” by Adam Smith, and 
he learned from this standard author on Political Econ- 
omy that “In that original state of things, which precedes 
both the appropriation of land and the accumulation of 
stock, the whole produce of labor belongs to the laborer. 
Had this state continued, the wages of labor would have 
augmented with all these improvements in the productive 
powers to which the division of labor gives rise. All 
things would gradually have become cheaper. They 
would have been produced by a smaller quantity of labor, 
and as commodities produced by equal quantities of labor, 
would naturally, in that state of things, be exchanged for 
one another, they would have been produced likewise 
with the produce of a smaller quantity.” 

But mankind has abandoned the simplicity of prim- 
itive life, and with that change the honesty of pristine na- 
tions has vanished. Even within the last fifty years, he 
reasoned, our powers of production have been multiplied 
twenty-fold, and by a natural sequence, the necessaries 
of life, the means of subsistence, should be produced with 
one-twentieth the labor, or the same amount of labor now 
should be rewarded with twenty times the amount of 
comforts that our forefathers reaped from their toil. But 
the contrary is true. Our hours of work have not been 
reduced, and our wages have diminished. The laborer is 
not as comfortable as he was a generation ago, and his 
condition compared with the progress of the nation, with 
the earnings of capital, with the facilities of enjoyment, 


54 


BEYOND THE BLACK. OCEAN 


with the conveniences of modern life, has vastly deter- 
iorated. 

It is not so much, after all, what a man receives as the 
proportion of wealth that falls to his share. When capital 
yields but a moderate profit, the toiler is satisfied with a 
meager remuneration, but when he sees the money of his 
employer doubled in two years, he is forcibly reminded 
that the product of his w^ealth is appropriated by the cap- 
italist under the name of profit. This nation was never 
so wealthy, nay, there is not a land of ancient or modern 
times that can be compared with ours. We have all the 
facilities of production. 

Machinery has been applied to the production of 
every commodity, and the genius of invention is rapidly 
supplanting the necessity of manual labor. To-day one 
man can spin as much cotton as eleven hundred men' 
could accomplish a century ago. One weaver can now 
supply the place of fifty in weaving. In making horse- 
shoes, the power of machinery compared with hand 
labor is in the ratio of five hundred to one. In the pro- 
duction of nails, the ratio is one thousand to one. In 
shipping, one man can perform the work of two thousand 
men; eighty-five per cent of hand labor has been dis- 
placed in the manufacture of watches. In 1845 there were 
three millions of tons of coal mined by machinery, and in 
1850 the amount had increased to thirteen millions, and 
this line of industry one man can accomplish with ma- 
chinery the work of ten men without machinery. A boy 
can make as many tin cans with a machine as' eighty-four 
men with hand labor. Ninety-six -per cent, of employes 
have lost their positions in the manufacture of musical 
instruments. There were employed, in the year 1845, 
four million, two hundred and fifty thousand, nine hun- 
dred and eighty-three men, women and children in the 
three hundred and fifty-five thousand, four hundred and 
ten establishments in this country, and they produced 
eight billion, two hundred and fifty million dollars of 
wealth, and they received in compensation for their labor 
one billion, six hundred and fifty million dollars, or twenty 
per cent. It is estimated that their portion of the natural 
production has fallen to seventeen per cent within the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


55 


past two years. Yet, within the last twenty-five years, 
multi-millionaires have sprung up in every quarter of the 
Republic. To-day there are four thousand families who 
own twenty billion dollars of wealth, and twenty-five thou- 
sand persons own more than half of our national wealth. 
And is it not strange that the producers' of wealth are in 
a worse condition than they were twenty-five years ago ? 

These thoughts occupied the mind of Isaac Gilhooley 
day and night, and, prompted by a sense of justice, he ex- 
pressed his views in a letter to the press, in which he con^- 
demned the avarice and inhumanity of the capitalists. 


CHAPTER VI. 

On the 14th of November, 1854, the following com- 
munication appeared in the Weekly Ledger, published in 
Meron, a very large paper that had a wide circulation 
among all classes of readers throughout the nation: 

“Editor Ledger — For some time I have been making a 
study of the labor problem, and I decided to give publicity 
to my views through the columns of your excellent paper, 
with the hope of making proselytes to the standard of 
truth. The object of civilization is to give men greater 
facilities of education, the advantages of the refinement 
of social life, more domestic comforts, to elevate their 
physical, mental and moral status. If civilization does not 
accomplish these purposes, it is a failure, and our retro- 
gression to barbarous life will not be mourned by future 
ages. But has the progress of the centuries achieved these 
ends? Do we, in the glorious triumphs of the nineteenth 
century, enjoy more advantages than our fathers who 
lived the simple pastoral life in the distant realms of the 
Arabian desert, or in the fertile plains and olive groves 
and rich vineyards of Israel? 

It is true that the prophets did not realize the advan- 
tages of steam and electricity. The railway carriages were 
not seen passing over the mountains of Benjamin, gliding 


56 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


along awful precipices, bounding through tunnels, cross- 
ing verdant valleys, spanning deep chasms. They had 
none of the conveniences that enhance the comforts of 
modern life. But were they not more happy, more con- 
tented, having better food and clothes than the millions 
of poor in our broad and glorious country? And if we 
follow the stream of time down through the long ages, 
we observe that as nations advance in civilization, distinct 
classes emerge on the theater of national life, and while 
wealth flows into the coffers of one, poverty invades the 
home of the other. 

The line of demarkation becomes more distinct with 
every improvement in the productive facilities of the na- 
tions. The genius of invention was intended for the bene- 
fit of mankind, and, especially, to lighten the burdens of 
the toilers, and give them the opportunities of developing 
their mental faculties, and elevating their moral instincts 
by utilizing the advantages of educational facilities, and 
coming in contact with refined associations. But these 
productions of human creation have been employed for 
the promotion of the few and the degradation of the many. 
Our economic system is established on a false presump- 
tion and its consequences have been, not only deleterious, 
but most disastrous to the world’s producers of wealth. 
Let us examine the cause of these social ills without preju- 
dices and predilections, and we will open our investiga- 
tions with a few definitions. 

Wealth consists of all those things which have been 
modified in any way by human labor so as to render them 
capable of satisfying human' desires. The land is not 
wealth, because land in itself does not satisfy human de- 
sires. In vain would you plead with the verdant hills and 
smiling meads to transform their growth into lager beer 
and 'Sauerkraut. In vain would you appeal to the mighty 
forests and umbrageous groves to transmute their wealth 
into cheese and macaroni. We say that Toadia is more 
wealthy to-day than she was when the Rochelle steamed 
up the placid bosom of the Baleh Bay, and by that state- 
ment we do not intend to convey the idea that she has 
more land, more natural resources, that her hills are 
higher and her mountains more majestic, that her groves 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


S7 


are greener, that her streams are longer and her seas are 
grander; but that her natural resources have been con- 
verted into food, clothing, railways, steamboats, resi- 
dences, factories, villages and cities. 

The factors of wealth are land and labor, as labor ap- 
plied to the land produces all wealth. But they say, what 
about capital? I cannot consider capital a factor of 
wealth, for it is not a positive agency, but merely an in- 
strument in the hand of labor. Capital is stored-up la- 
bor, and therefore is nothing more than the product of 
labor. Labor is the agency which transforms the rude 
materials of nature into articles of food, clothing and do- 
mestic'and public comfort, and all the wealth in the world 
is the product of toil. If every laborer on the earth would 
die to-night, what would be the fate of the capitalists? 
They would perish in less than ten days. But should all 
the capitalists expire this moment, what would be the 
condition of the laborers? They would not only survive, 
but would grow wealthy in being permitted to appropriate 
the entire product of their labor without a master to claim 
eighty-three per cent for the privilege of enjoying the 
remainder of seventeen per cent. 

The political economists of this, and every other coun*- 
try, have magnified the importance of capital. They claim 
that the wages of labor is drawn from capital, which is 
false. The acceptance of this principle leads to the con- 
clusion that the rate of wages is the ratio between the 
number of laborers seeking employment and the amount 
of capital expended, and this is the foundation of all those 
miseries which accompany the march of civilization. 

If the manufacturer can afford to spend two thousand 
dollars daily in labor, and his establishment requires the 
services of one thousand men, and only that number seeks 
employment, each operative will receive two dollars per 
day. The next year one of the men invents a machine, 
by use of which fifty employes can do the work of the 
one thousand men. Let us suppose that the inventor gets 
the benefit of his genius, which is rarely ever the case; 
then this individual enters into a new field, and leaves the 
nine hundred and ninety-nine to compete for the fifty 
positions. This competition gives the proprietor abso- 


58 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


lute dominion over his employes, and those who are re- 
tained are compelled to work for starvation wages, while 
the discharged are reduced to mendicancy. If they seek 
employment in other fields, they find the machine in op- 
eration there, and twenty men competing for the same 
position. They cannot resort to other trades, for we must 
presume that the power of machinery has forestalled 
them. 

Besides, having spent the best years of their lives, and 
concentrated the wealth of their genius in mastering one 
line of business, they are unfit for other work, or, at least, 
are incapacitated to give the satisfaction required, and 
they are turned away to yield place to more efficient 
workmanship. They cannot expect to find work in con- 
structing machinery, for if the same amount of labor 
saved by the application of machinery were utilized in the 
construction of machinery, then the employment of ma- 
chinery would not redound to the advantage of the manu- 
facturer. 

The division of labor increases its capacity and dimin- 
ishes the demand. Adam Smith says that one man can 
scarcely make twelve pins a day, whereas ten men, each 
working at a single operation, can produce forty-eight 
thousand pins a day, which would be four thousand eight 
hundred per person. The ability of each operative is in- 
creased five hundred fold, or each is now able to do the 
work of five hundred men. This is simply one illustra- 
tion taken from hundreds. 

Both machinery and the formation of trusts, according 
to our present system, are mighty agencies in the en- 
slavement of laborers. The result of this competition is 
the reduction of wages to the lowest possible point upon 
which laborers can live and reproduce. Capital has been 
exalted above labor, and the latter has been made a com- 
modity which we buy in the market at the lowest figure. 
In hiring the laborer, the capitalist never considers how 
much wealth the former creates, but how cheaply he can 
be hired. In Nichan, one of the most ancient countries of 
the trans-arctic world, where the competitive system has 
produced its ultimate results, laborers live on rats, and 
dogs are considered a great delicacy among the lower 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


59 


classes. I predict that within fifty years from to-day the 
same conditions will exist in Toadia. In the dark and 
dismal days that shall mark the close of this century, the 
poor man’s wife will go to the butcher’s shop in the morn- 
ing, and ask for cat steak and skunk cutlets. 

Since the beginning of January, 1850, three hundred 
trusts have been formed in this country. One hundred 
and fifty thousand traveling agents have lost their posi- 
tions ; nearly one billion dollars in advertising have been 
saved by the corporations ; fifty thousand men have been 
discharged by the railroads. And this mighty army of 
employes is thrown on the market, if the expression is 
legitimate, and competition is waxing fierce. Young lady 
clerks are working for three dollars per week, and are 
merely tolerated at that price. The department stores 
have driven seven hundred thousand small business 
houses from the field. The battalions are swelling day 
by day, wages is sinking, the necessaries of life are in- 
creasing, hunger stalks through the land, the storm is 
brewing, clouds are rising in the western horizon, the roll 
of thunder echoes through the mountain dells, lightning 
flames are blazing in the skies, and the nation is already in 
the throes of a dreadful revolution, a political tempest, a 
social hurricane, that shall leave desolation in its wake, 
and drench the land in blood. 

The wages of labor is the product of labor. In the 
primitive state of society, before the formation of indus- 
trial corporations, and the creation of a monetary system, 
every man obtained his subsistence from the product of 
his toil. The hunter roamed the forest, armed with his 
bow and quiver, pierced the heart of the bounding stag, 
and brought the slaughtered animal home. This was the 
product of his labor, and it was his wages. Now the di- 
vision of labor, which gives rise to different pursuits, does 
not alter this principle. If one man picked berries, an- 
other fished, a third cultivated a few acres of corn, a fourth 
pursued the occupation of an archer and lived on wild 
beasts, a fifth raised fowl, and they exchanged their ar- 
ticles, the case would remain unchanged. The hunter 
gives his deer for a few bushels of corn, the farmer trans- 


6o 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


fers the produce of his toil to the fisherman, and receives 
an equivalent in another form. 

Ten men depend on the finny tribe for their subsist- 
ence. One remains at home and makes boats and oars for 
the nine who go out on the deep, and he receives, in ex- 
change for his boats and oars, a quantity of fish. The 
one who furnishes the material for fishing is engaged in 
that industry as much as the men who battle with the 
waves. 

Let us apply this principle to our highly civilized state 
of society. A stove manufacturer engages a hundred 
men in his establishment, and he pays each ten dollars 
a week. Their combined efforts produce two thousand 
stoves per week. The work expended on these stoves 
represents the wages of the operatives. Hence when the 
employes receive their compensation on Saturday night, 
they have already enhanced the wealth of the manufac- 
turer, and have contributed to the world’s store of wealth 
many times the sum which they draw in payment for their 
week’s salary. The proprietor, therefore, does not ad- 
vance the wages of the men, when he gives them their 
compensation, but he simply converts the wealth they 
have created into another form, and the money they re- 
ceive is merely a draft on the world’s stock of wealth. 

Capital assists labor in the production of wealth, but 
does not support labor. If we had no capital in machin- 
ery, labor would be compelled to make these improve- 
ments before it could operate with the same facility. 
Money is merely a medium of exchange, and is not a fac- 
tor of wealth, and therefore should not be entitled to any 
merit beyond the functions which it performs. Money 
should not breed money. Money is unproductive and in- 
terest is usury. 

If there were no money, and the operatives received 
their wages in stoves, they would be necessitated to seek 
some one who would be willing to accept their articles 
in exchange for bread, meat and clothes. Since money 
represents the products of labor, such as shoes, coats, 
hats, it is nothing more than accumulated labor, and 
hence the function of money is to assist the laborer in the 
production of more wealth by facilitating the conversion 


BEROND THE BLACK OCEAN. 6l 

of the articles created by his labor into other articles 
which his daily wants require. 

Labor is the only title to property. An object belongs 
to me in virtue of the fact that I have spent my energies in 
its creation. But labor requires material for the exercise 
of its powers, and these materials are begotten in the 
womb of nature. The materials essential in the suste- 
nance of human life come from the land. By the land I 
designate the entire earth, with its myriad forms of life, 
whethei: swimming in the boundless realm of waves, 
or floating in the purple sheen above, or creeping in the 
mire, or roaming through the forest glades ; for every liv- 
ing organic creature, aquatic, aerial or terrestrial, draws 
its existence from the earth, and therefore it is a product 
of the land. Sugar-cane and cotton, wheat and corn, fish 
and fowl, the clothes that we wear and the food that sus- 
tains our lives, the stones in our factories and the bricks 
in our houses, the wood in our carriages and the iron in 
our railways, all come from land ; but it requires labor to 
bring them forth from their original mode of existence, 
and form them for their special purpose. 

It is true that, in the production of the materials util- 
ized in perpetuating human existence, and increasing the 
comforts of life, light and water are essential, but these are 
included in land, inasmuch as the earth receives all these 
agencies. It requires labor to cultivate the soil and de- 
velop its latent energies. Nature produces the means, 
contains the power, but it requires the exercise of labor 
to call forth the hidden treasures and embryonic possi- 
bilities. 

Nature makes no distinction between her children. 
She does not create rich or poor, lords or slaves. All are 
equal before her. It is true that some are endowed with 
greater mental capacity, more muscular power, more 
courage and fortitude than others, yet in the struggle for 
existence she shows no favors. All have the same right to 
the gifts which she bestows. She smiles upon the cabin 
as blandly as upon the castle, and she frowns upon the 
king as well as upon the peasant. The wind fills the sail 
of the fishing smack as well as the merchantman that car- 
ries cargoes of provisions over thousands of leagues of 


62 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


foamy waves. The sun shines as benignly upon the gar- 
den of the cottager as the demense of the Danish lord. 
The dews of night and the clouds of heaven refresh the 
fields of the poor and the rich without distinction. The 
treasures of nature are open to all who court and win her 
favors by the application of toil. 

What constitutes the rightful basis of property ? Does 
not the right of property originate in the fact that it has 
been created by labor, in the fact that every man is enti- 
tled to the use of his faculties, his powers, and to whatever 
those faculties and powers produce? What enables me to 
say that this house is mine ? Because I have made it or 
purchased it from some other person who made it, and 
transferred his right to me. We may trace the article 
back through a hundred owners, and finally we reach the 
original maker. “There can be no ownership of any- 
thing, no rightful title, which is not derived from the title 
of the producer, and does not rest in the natural right of 
a man to himself.'^ 

Now this right of ownership, based on labor, excludes 
every other title. For if I am entitled to myself, and can 
exercise my power of production, it essentially follows 
that I must have material on which to expend my ener- 
gies. Now land, which is not produced by labor, cannot 
be subject to private ownership. Private ownership in 
land would violate natural justice, for it deprives the la- 
borer of the opportunities of exerting his powers, and 
hence robs him of the ownership of his person. For if 
he cannot exercise his energies without permission, he is 
subject to the will of others, and is a slave. The landlord 
can compel those who own no land to give a part of the 
fruit produced by their toil as a compensation for the 
privilege of exercising their powers ; and, hence, the right 
to property not created by labor is an infringement on the 
right to property created by labor. 

Every man born into the world has a right to life. The 
babe of the monarch and the subject, the child of the 
gilded palace and the miserable hovel, are equal in their 
claim to the right to life. But land is necessary for the 
exercise of this right, and hence no one can be deprived 
of the use of land. The private ownership of land would 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


63 


place the lives of the toiling millions in the power of the 
landlords. If any man could control the light of the sun, 
the existence of the human race would be at his mercy ; if 
any man could direct the circulation of the air, he would 
be in a position to dispense that element at a penny a 
breath; if any man held the streams and seas and lakes 
and bays at his command, he could famish the earth and 
destroy the commerce of the world ; and if any man owned 
the earth, he could drive every living creature into the 
briny flood. 

Place the land at the disposal of the individual, and 
you clothe him with absolute power over the lives and ac- 
tions of his fellow-beings. Pie can compel them to crouch 
as slaves at the foot of his throne, and toil under the stroke 
of the lash. If I own a farm of land, I have complete do- 
minion over it, and can dispose of it according to my 
pleasure. I can exclude others from the use of it, and let 
it lie fallow while millions cry for bread. If I have not 
this right, then my ownership is not complete, and 
amounts to nothing more than possession. If I owned 
the entire earth, I would violate no law in forcing the rest 
of mankind to vacate my dominions. 

Nature has given to all the sons of Adam the use of 
the earth, and has assiduously guarded the rights of un- 
born generations by prohibiting private property in land ; 
and God has sanctioned the decrees of nature, for He has 
given no individual a title to land. 

When this government shall recognize the voice of 
nature, which cries out against the degrading poverty 
which haunts the footsteps of the wealth-producers, while 
the capitalist revels in luxuries ; when the laws' of our 
country shall do justice to every child borm beneath the 
smile of our sun and the glitter of our stars, then the pang 
of hunger will no longer distort the faces of little babes, 
and fill their hearts with gloom. No longer will the 
mother, by the glimmering firelight in the chill wintry eve, 
with the howl of the north wind sweeping through her 
wretched hovel, wailing in harmony with the desolation 
of her soul, w'eep over the lifeless form of her darling child 
who perished for lack of clothing. No longer will the 
gamins wander about in tatters, begging for a morsel of 


64 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


bread. No longer will the rosy-cheeked maiden sacrifice 
her virtue at the unhallowed shrine of lust; no longer 
will strong men grow wan and faint in the struggle for 
existence ; no longer will haggard, careworn women fall 
and die on the roadside ; no longer will the red hand of 
murder tarnish the brow of justice, and the curse of crim- 
inals shriek through our dungeon cells. 

O ye men of power ; ye legislators entrusted with the 
weal of the nations ; ye hypocrites who swallow a camel 
and strain at a gnat ; ye pharisees who are scrupulously 
exact about the exterior of the vessel, but are blind to its 
interior condition ; ye hypocrites who are like whited 
sepulchres, who are covered with the blood of little babes, 
who have murdered the poor, the innocent and the de- 
fenseless ; ye brood of vipers who poison the nation with 
your venomous stings, who drink the life current of thou- 
sands every year, who are reveling in luxury and vice 
while the poor are begging for justice — ah! it will be 
more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of 
judgment than for you. The long-lost inhabitants of 
Tyre and Sidon will appear as shining angels in your pres- 
ence. 

Rise up at once I Recognize the claims of your per- 
secuted brethren; acknowledge your iniquities; purge 
yourselves by doing justice to the poor and the forsaken 
and the oppressed ; wipe away the tears of sorrow from 
the eyes of orphans, and heal the wounds you have made 
in the hearts of widows. Unless you rectify these awful 
wrongs which you have perpetrated, the passions of your 
victims, goaded to fury by their miseries, will sweep over 
the land like a desolating cyclone. 


CHAPTER VII. 

This letter created a profound sensation in the aristo- 
cratic suburbs of Meron the morning of its appearance in 
the Ledger, and within a few days every plutocratic jour- 
nal in the country was commenting on the temerity of the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


65 


youthful author, and denouncing his doctrine as anar- 
chistic. The following rejoinder, written by Aaron Nich- 
olson, an Israelitic rabbi of Vestonlag, was published in 
the Standard : 

Editor of Standard : — I noticed in the columns of the 
Ledger, of your city, a contribution from the pen of Mr. 
Isaac Gilhooley, a young law student in your State Uni- 
versity, in which the writer attacks the foundation of our 
social fabric by teaching communism, which is an eu- 
phemism for anarchy. God has made man a social being 
and in virtue of that innate desire, man seeks the society of 
his fellow-man. Since self-interest and dependence draw 
men together, government is essential for the preserva- 
tion of order, for the restraining of the evil proclivities 
of lawless characters, for the prevention of crime and the 
promotion of the common weal. Hence, the power of 
making laws for the protection of property has been given 
to mankind by the Ruler of the universe. Now, if men 
agree to grant individuals the right to possess land, then 
that right is just and sacred. It is society exercising its 
God-given right of legislation. As Mr. Gilhooley says, 
man has a right to dispose of his labor, and he has conse- 
quently the right of converting the product of his labor 
into land, which is the only substantial property. 

If we did not have a right to own land, then we 
could not call any place our home, we would be tenants 
of the government. If land is common property, then 
every man can claim the whole earth. Now, if every man 
can claim the whole earth, he might have reason to grum- 
ble if any other man took a part of his possession. The 
question arises who is to own this field and who is to own 
that field. This mode of partitioning the land would eu'- 
gender endless disputes, for no one would really know 
what he owned. 

'‘Besides, Mr. Gilhooley presumes everybody lives on 
the land, which is a false hypothesis. While the farmer 
tills the soil, he needs some one to make his plows, some 
one to make his shoes, some one to grind his wheat, some 
one to bake his bread, officials to protect his property. 
Now all these people do not live directly on the land. 

"Again, Mr. Gilhooley presumes that every man 


66 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


should have exactly the same amount of land, and this is 
a false supposition. All men do not require the same 
amount of land. The farmer needs several hundred acres, 
the ranchman several thousand, whereas the blacksmith 
requires but a few feet for his shop. 

“Mr. Gilhooley rants a great deal about the equality 
of mankind. He claims that all are entitled to equal op- 
portunities of existence. All men are not equal. Some 
are large and others are small. Some are geniuses and 
others are fools. The writer also presumes that labor is 
the sole factor in the creation of wealth. This is likewise 
a mistake. The sun’s rays are essential, also air and water. 
He indulges in silly, stupid twaddle about the rights of 
unborn generations. The unborn generation is not yet in 
existence, and that which does not exist can not have any 
rights. 

“Ostensibly the soi-disant savant wishes God to come 
down from the skies and legalize our land titles, as He de- 
livered the Decalogue on Mt. Sinai. Mr. Gilhooley can 
exercise the right of thought, and yet he never received 
permission from God for that purpose. Our laws are just, 
and every one enjoys equal advantages, and the distinc- 
tion between classes originates in the natural disparities 
of men. Mr. Gilhooley should study logic and moral 
philosophy, and he would not venture to father such opin- 
ions as he advanced in the Ledger. 

“Yours truly, 

“Aaron Nicholson.” 

When the first communication from the pen of Isaac 
appeared in the press, many of the wealthy men of Meron 
and the opulent patrons of the University, notified the 
rector that they would withdraw their support from the 
institution if the students were permitted to advance ideas 
that would revolutionize society, and, perhaps, demolish 
the government. The rector had, on receipt of these 
peremptory communications, notified Isaac Gilhooley that 
he must withhold his views on the land question from the 
public press. But our young hero was not to be daunted 
by the arbitrary voice of plutocracy, and he informed the 
rector that he was a Toadian citizen, and would not frame 
his thoughts and language in the mould of other men, nor 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


67 


would he acquiesce to the caprice of any enthroned auto- 
crat. The rector informed the young man that a repeti- 
tion of such misdemeanors would be punished by imme- 
diate expulsion from the institution. 

On the fifth of December the Ledger attracted the 
eyes of all its readers by the prominent caption, “The 
Politician and the Rabbi Meet on the Bloody Arena. The 
Rod of Aaron Is Devoured by the Serpents of the Egyp- 
tian Magician. The Israelite Has Fallen by the Sword 
of the Philistine.’’ 

“Editor of Ledger : — I observed, in last week’s issue 
of the Standard, a paper from Aaron Nicholson, a Rabbi 
of Vestonlag, in which the reverend gentleman attacks 
my position on the injustice of land ownership. How- 
ever, I regret for the honor of the ministry and the repu- 
tation it has acquired for learning, that Mr. Nicholson has 
rendered himself ridiculous in the minds of intelligent 
people. In the first place his cause is indefensible, and 
the most profound erudition could not rescue him from 
humiliating failure; but the superficial Rabbi has en- 
hanced the difficulties and objections that confront his 
side of the question, by absolute ignorance of the subject 
he attempts to manipulate, and his total misconception of 
my communication. His letter to the Standard is distin- 
guished for its vain and unsophisticated assertions. I do 
my adversary no injustice when I characterize his article 
as the triumph of banality and puerility. 

“It is true that God has given man the right to make 
laws for the preservation of society, but I fail to see that 
this purpose is accomplished by disinheriting the human 
race of its birthright, and jeopardizing millions of lives by 
placing them at the mercy of a venal, luxurious, atheistic, 
conscienceless Mammon. Did not God forbid stealing? 
And when society legislates in favor of private ownership 
of land, this is legalizing a theft of the gravest nature. 
God gave every man a right to life, and society, by passing 
enactments to secure the right of landlords, deprives man 
of the right to his life, and places the right to life in the 
power of the landlord alone. 

“God gave man ownership over his person, the facul- 
ties of his mind and body. This personal right cannot 


68 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


be exercised without land, for how can a man expend his 
energies, unless there be some object to receive those en- 
ergies ? Threfore, in defending the right to land owner- 
ship, society gives the landlord the right to dispose of the 
powers and persons of other men. Far back in the dim 
and distant centuries God spoke to the bridal pair as they 
roved along the crystal streams and through the shady 
groves of Eden, saying unto them; ‘Increase and mul- 
tiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the 
fishes of the sea and the fowls of the air and 'all living 
creatures that move upon the earth. And God said : Be- 
hold I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the 
earth, and all the trees that have in themselves seed of 
their own kind, to be your meat. And to all the beasts 
of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that 
move upon the earth, and wherein there is life that they 
may have to feed upon.' (Gen., i Ch.) 

“This is sufficient evidence to show that God gave the 
earth and all its fruits to mankind at large, and that all 
generations were included in that grant. In reference to 
Mr. Nicholson’s insipid attempt to display philosophical 
erudition, by stating that the unborn generation is not yet 
in existence, and therefore can have no right, I wish to 
inform my pretentious critic that one generation merges 
into another, and the continuity is unbroken, and it does 
not require any profundity of logical acumen or meta- 
physical lore to discern that this is necessary for the per- 
petuation of the human race. The rights of the unborn 
generations were reserved in the divine grant, just as a 
father leaves an estate entail to the heirs of his son. When 
these heirs are born, they immediately acquire their right. 
Adam and Eve were to enjoy the fruit of the earth during 
their life-time, and each generation was entitled to the 
same privilege, but had no right to dispose of the sub- 
stance. 

“Blackstone, referring to the first chapter of Genesis, 
writes : ‘This is the only true and solid foundation of man’s 
dominion over external things, whatever airy, metaphysi- 
cal notions may have been started by fanciful writers on 
the subject. The earth, therefore, and all things therein, 
are the general property of mankind’ (Com. Eng. Law, 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


69 


Book 2nd, p. 208). Since this is the foundation of land 
titles, and since the land was given to all mankind and to 
all generations, then the title extended to the usufruct, 
and not to the substance. If it referred to the substance, 
then one generation could alienate its dominions, and the 
next generation would be born without any right to the 
usufruct of the land, which is contrary to the Genesiac 
phraseology. 

“Men have a right to relinquish their personal claims, 
but they have no right to sell the claims of another gener- 
ation. Since their personal right of using land cannot 
be abdicated without destroying the rights of the next 
generation, the right of the present generation to the use 
of land cannot be abandoned. Now that original title 
wherein all men are to have equal access to the fruits of 
the earth, remains until abolished by another positive de- 
cree ; and since there is no divine decree altering the orig- 
inal law, the title is still extant. This should be plain 
enough for Rabbi Nicholson, whose office is to read and 
expound the law of God contained in the Ancient Tes- 
tament. Every man can exercise his natural rights (as 
long as they do not conflict with the natural rights of 
others) until he is restricted by divine law. By natural 
law all men own the earth, and this has been confirmed by 
divine law, and therefore he who would, in violation of 
this dual enactment, appropriate land and exercise own- 
ership in same, should be compelled to substantiate his 
claims, by showing that the author of these two laws had 
suspended their operation in his case. 

“By natural law* I can use my faculties, and this has 
not been annulled by divine positive law, and therefore it 
is not necessary, as in the former case, that God should 
sanction my right by a special commission. The parity 
which the clerical charlatan attempted to establish in these 
two cases, is like all his logic, philosophy and political 
economy, the mirage of a mental desert, the ignis fatuus 
of a befogged intellect. 

“The difficulties of common ownership could be ob- 
viated by placing a tax, equal to its full rental, on land 
values, and those who are willing to pay the tax for a 
larger area would be entitled to the use of a larger area. 


76 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


This tax would be more than sufficient to defray all the 
expenses of government, and, therefore, improvements, 
which are the product of labor, would be exempt from 
taxation. This would be the most just tax because it is 
imposed on the gifts of nature and removed' from labor’s 
products. If some use the land, a right which all possess 
equally, then they should pay for the enjoyment of that 
privilege. By a tax on land, the community receives a 
compensation for the use of a gift which God has created 
for the benefit of all. 

“We now must consider the factors in the creation of 
land values. Four hundred years ago I could have pur- 
chased this county for one dollar, and to-day the same 
land is worth many millions. At that distant period civili- 
zation had not penetrated the wilderness of the west ; the 
bush house rested on Mt. Gilead and Snowy Peak, the 
dusky warrior roamed along Ihe plains of Gideon and 
feared not the pale-faced intruder from the shores of the 
Hager and the Goshon. Since then the aborigines have 
wandered beyond the desert of Gaza, the Caucasian has 
followed the footsteps of the conquered race, and the en- 
terprising city of Meron has risen above the ruins of the 
Scythian village. What has created the present value of 
real estate in the Maiden City? Labor which felled the 
oak and the sycamore and the beech, cleared away the 
forests, built streets, houses, mills, factories and railroads. 

“In a little village on our western frontier, real estate 
is very cheap, because there are no transportation facili- 
ties, no industries, a very inferior school, and the small 
stores which the patronage of the place supports cannot 
afford to carry expensive materials, and the wealthier in- 
habitants are compelled to visit distant cities to procure 
the costly articles that satisfy their tastes. There are no 
inducement to homeseekers, because people prefer to 
pay a much higher price for lots in a location where they 
can enjoy every domestic comfort and every commercial 
advantage. A few enterprising capitalists establish fac- 
tories, build a railroad through the hamlet, open up com- 
munication with other cities ; people come in vast numbers 
to seek locations ; there is an enormous demand' for lots, 
and real estate is enhanced ten-fold) its former value. Who 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


71 


should bear the burdens of supporting the government? 
The men who created the value in the land by their im- 
provements, or the men who did nothing for the advance- 
ment of the city, but who are now enjoying, in the in- 
creased land values, the sole benefit of the progress made 
by the thrift, energy, labor and wealth of others ? 

“Would it not be a stimulant to labor to lighten its 
burden, to exempt the product of toil from taxation? 
Would not labor expend its resources in creating more 
wealth? Would not improvements multiply rapidly if all 
restrictions in the nature of taxation were removed? 
Levy a tax on dogs and there will be fewer dogs. Levy 
a tax on wealth and there will be less wealth. Taxes are 
paid to the government in compensation for services ren- 
dered in protecting property. But the landlord alone is 
reaping the advantage of the improvements, and in justice 
he should pay for the protection of those improvements. 
If a conflagration should envelop the city, and leave 
naught in its path but smoking ruins, real estate would 
immediately fall from building lot prices to frontier farm- 
ing land prices. 

“The improvements in a large city do not cost more 
than in the country, and perhaps much less, for, owing to 
the abundance of labor and material, both are cheaper. 
However, real estate in a city is a hundred times more 
expensive than in the country, because a dense popula- 
tion has augmented the improvements, which pander to 
human comforts, and have made the place an important 
emporium, and therefore have created a demand for land. 

“A sturdy son of toil abandons the refined society in 
the center of population, and wanders forth to the unfre- 
quented and pathless wilderness, with the hope of ame- 
liorating his condition and acquiring a fortune for his 
family. The country is inviting on every side, endowed 
with potent energies, refreshed with limpid streams, 
bathed in the sheen of the sun and smiling in the gleam 
of the moon and the glitter of the stars. All the vast re- 
gion is without a claimant, on account of its remoteness 
from the haunts of civilized life, and consequently it is 
without value. 

“The pioneer selects his location and appropriates as 


72 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


much land as he can cultivate. Others follow his foot- 
steps, and finding the land everywhere of equal fertility, 
they occupy tracts adjacent to the farm of the first settler, 
and his farm, in the course of time, becomes the nucleus 
of a large agricultural community. To supply themselves 
with the comforts of life, it is necessary to introduce, 
stores, build a school, establish a postoffice, and naturally 
they would select the first farm for the location of these 
buildings. Now the first settler’s land acquires a special 
value, and this value has been created by the expansion 
of the community, the enlargement of the population, and 
not from the efforts of the pioneer. 

“The community is now divided between merchants 
and husbandmen, and, of course, every one wishes to be 
near the market, and there is an increased demand for 
land in the center of the district. If there were no land 
titles, disputes would arise about the right of appropriat- 
ing the most desirable lots. With our present land sys- 
tem, the first settler would accumulate an immense for- 
tune from the growth of the community. Is there no way 
of adjusting these difficulties? Is there no way of pre- 
venting disputes about the ownership of individuals, when 
land belongs to the community at large, and, at the same 
time, is there no method of securing to the community 
the wealth it has created by its improvements? Levy a 
revenue tax on land values, remove the burden of taxa- 
tion from improvements, make the land tax equal to its 
full rental. The most desirable location will bring a 
higher tax, and the more remote a lower tax. Those who 
are willing and able to pay the higher tax would be enti- 
tled to the best locations; and the others would select 
cheaper lots. If the first settler desired to retain his en- 
tire tract, and pay the increased tax, he would be entitled 
to hold it. 

“Then the amount of land possessed by each one is de- 
termined by the amount of tax each one is willing and able 
to pay. No one would keep more land than he could use, 
for it would be unprofitable to do so. As the land tax 
would be the only tax, we appropriately designate it the 
Single Tax. According to the Single Tax system, land- 
lords would not be molested in their possessions but could 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


73 


live on their estates forever, and bequeath them to their 
posterity. The only difiference between the present sys*- 
tem and the Single Tax system consists in the increased 
tax imposed on land. Our titles would not be altered, and 
no change would be made. This system would diminish 
governmental expenses by dismissing an army of officials 
who are employed in the revenue service. Sixty-five per 
cent of the land tax would be sufficient to defray ex- 
penses, and the total taxation on land and improvements 
to-day would fall from one hundred to sixty-five per cent. 

“In this country the Wellthorgans own two millions 
acres of land ; the Rothmans two millions acres ; Lord 
Formeyer three millions; the Danish nobility twenty 
millions, and the railroads two hundred millions acres. 
These lands are held for the sake of speculation, while 
thousands of paupers cry for the crumbs that fall from our 
tables. They were acquired at a sacrifice (often by grant, 
as this government donated one hundred and sixty mill- 
ion acres to the railroads) and the tax on them is a mere 
bagatelle. Raise the tax to the full rental, and these broad 
tracts will be thrown on the market at reduced prices, and 
millions of paupers will be enabled to secure homes. 

“New Media, previously to 1830, was cursed with vast 
wealth and degrading poverty. A few great landlords had 
dominion over the country. A graduated land tax, rang- 
ing from one to three cents on the dollar, according to the 
extent of the domain, with an extra two cents for absentee 
landlords, proved so heavy that the most of the vast es- 
tates were offered for sale. To-day there is not a million- 
aire in New Media, only one man owns half a million, and 
there is scarcely a pauper in the land. 

“The Single Tax would have the same effect here, and 
the full rental of the present time would fall, on account 
of the abundance of the land, at least thirty-five per cent. 
Let us see what advantages would follow from this sys- 
tem. 

“A man owns a lot upon which he pays five hundred 
dollars taxes, and he erects a factory upon this lot, and his 
taxes are increased to one thousand dollars. Another 
man has a vacant lot of the same size adjacent to the fac- 
tory and he pays five hundred dollars in taxes. The Sin- 


74 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCFAN 


gle Tax system would relieve the first man’s factory, and 
place the entire thousand dollars on the lot. Real estate 
having fallen thirty-five per cent the manufacturer would 
pay sixty-five per cent, and therefore six hundred and fifty 
dollars instead of one thousand dollars. The second man 
would pay exactly the same. Now the second man would 
immediately erect some industry on his vacant lot, estab- 
lish a large mill, employ hundreds of men in constructing 
this plant, and hundreds of others in operating it. Hence 
thousands of dollars are now spent in the city, where not 
one cent was expended before. 

“A poor man wishes to erect a dwelling. He buys a 
lot for two thousand dollars and builds a residence for 
two thousand dollars. He will pay a tax of fifty dollars 
annually for the lot and the same amount for the house. 
Now the Single Tax exempts the house and imposes the 
whole sum on the lot, which sum will be reduced thirty- 
five per cent and hence instead of one hundred dollars he 
pays sixty-five dollars. 

“But this is not all. He has only two thousand dollars, 
for which he will purchase the lot, and according to our 
present system he could not build till he has accumulated 
two thousand dollars more, and all this time he pays fifty 
dollars annually in taxes. The Single Tax plan would 
enable him to build, with the two thousand dollars, a 
house on any vacant lot which is not appropriated, and 
pay the government sixty-five dollars annually for the 
use of the lot. In that way the poor man saves two thou- 
sand dollars in the beginning, and thirty-five dollars an- 
nually for the rest of his life. 

“Rabbi Nicholson attempted to prove that all men do 
not live on the land, and he illustrates this by referring to 
the mechanic who makes plows, the miller who grinds the 
flour, the sheriff who keeps the peaces Is it possible that 
these men do not eat food or wear clothes? Of course 
they do. Well, then, they are living on the fruits of the 
land. Do they live in the clouds and float around on the 
moonbeams? No; they live on earth, move on earth, 
have their whole being on the earth. I will admit with 
my ministerial adversary that light, air and water are 
essential factors in the creation of materials used in the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


n 


production of wealth, but these would be useless without 
soil. The first three are beyond human power, but the 
owner of land has direct control over all the energies which 
nature expends in the formation of the substance that 
makes the fund of the world’s wealth. Air, light and 
water would be abortive agencies, if we had no land to re- 
ceive their energies. A learned scientist has endeavored 
to prove that vegetation can flourish in water, but he con- 
fines his illustration to one or two species which would 
not bear sufficient aliment to sustain the simplest forms 
of life. 

‘T will concede that all men are not equal in mental 
calibre, corporal ability and stature, yet they are entitled 
to the same opportunities. The strong man will utilize 
his power to greater advantage tlian the weak man, and 
will leave him behind in the race of life. Yet it does not 
follow that the latter must be disinherited for the benefit 
of the former. A giant and a pygmy have twenty acres of 
land each. The giant, by his superior strength expended 
on the soil, will increase its fertility to its highest produc- 
tive capacity, and his land will yield one thousand bushels 
of wheat. It follows that the giant reaps greater advan- 
tages from the same opportunities, yet I fail to see that 
the pygmy should relinquish his right to his land in favor 
of one whom nature has blessed with superior gifts, or that 
the giant would be justified in seizing the property of the 
dwarf. Yet this is the legitimate conclusion from Mr. 
Nicholson’s premises. 

‘T have spoken of the productive power of machinery, 
and the decrease in the demand of labor following from 
the consolidation of vast industries into mighty corpora- 
tions that control the supply of the nation. The competi- 
tion of laborers is daily waxing fiercer. If the wage- 
earners apply to the landlord, they must accept his con- 
ditions and hence they are sailing between Scylla and 
Charybdis. The Single Tax would open a new field of 
labor, and would immediately draw the excessive popula- 
tion from factories, and according to the law of supply 
and demand, laborers could exact as much wages as they 
could earn in cultivating the soil. I believe in the Single 
Tax (i) because it recognizes the fact that all men have 


76 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


a right to life and person, and it gives all men equal op- 
portunities of exercising these rights, and deprives no one 
of the use of God’s gifts; (2) because it gives to every 
man the complete ownership of the products of his toil, 
removes from labor all restrictions and thus encourages 
industry; (3) because it appropriates the values created 
by the community for the good of the community; (4) 
because it appropriates values created by improvements 
for the protection of improvements ; (5) because it reduces 
the burden of the community thirty-five per cent ; (6) be- 
cause it is an escape valve for labor in the hands of capital ; 
(7) because it is the only correct tax that can be levied. 
No one can estimate the value of old machinery, factories, 
houses, but every one knows the value of land, for its 
value is established by the value of the surrounding land. 

“But I do not say that the Single Tax is a complete 
remedy for all the ills of the age. It is the only just 
method of taxation, and its application would relieve the 
situation for a time ; but society will not attain the golden 
dreams of perfection till all the means of production and 
distribution are nationalized. The Single- Tax theory is 
founded on competition and individualism, and in place 
of these we should substitute co-operation and collectiv- 
ism. 

“Although the Single Tax would deal a severe blow to 
the domination of competitism, yet in the course of time 
the scars of the latter would be cicatriced, and the con- 
scienceless fiend would arise from the dust to rule the 
unborn generations. The moneyed kings would rent 
thousands, and, perhaps, millions of acres, which they 
would cultivate with the very best machinery, and could 
thus dispense with the most of manual labor. To-day 
wheat can be produced on the large farms of the West for 
twenty cents per bushel, whereas it costs the small farmer 
about forty-eight cents per bushel. Therefore, the large 
farmer, renting fifty or one hundred thousand acres and 
cultivating it with the latest improvements of production, 
could well afford to give the small agriculturist the wages 
the latter could make in cultivating his own land, and, in 
the course of time, monopoly would supplant competition. 

“Again, the railroads own immense tracts of land, and 


BEYOND THE BLACK. OCEAN 


77 


the imposition of the Single Tax would not curb their 
power, for possesing a monopoly in transportation, they 
could discriminate against their competitors, and thus 
annihilate their profits. If the government would impose 
a franchise tax on the roads, the management could 
charge this tax to their patrons in advanced rates, and 
the transportation kings would be as omnipotent as the 
autocrats of Kurush. 

‘‘After the raw material has passed into the hands of 
the merchants and manufacturers, the power of capital 
would have a vast field for the exploitation ofdabor. The 
profits arising from the unlimited cultivation of the soil 
would be so reduced by unfair competition with powerful 
corporations and syndicates, that many would abandon 
the peaceful life of the rustic, and seek employment in 
other fields, and with the ever-increasing combination of 
capital, division of labor, and multiplication of mechanical 
skill, it would not be many decades before the slavery of 
labor would be more galling than the gyves that manacle 
the limbs of the toilers of this generation. 

“The Single Tax merely deprives capital of one club, 
which would, ere long, be supplied by other and improved 
weapons of warfare against the rights and liberty of the 
toiling masses. I advocate the Single Tax, not as an end, 
but merely as a means to the nationalization of land. The 
Single Tax is founded on collectivism in ownership and 
individualism in cultivation. We should adopt the first, 
and tolerate the second, in order to accomplish a third 
purpose, which consists in co-operation in production. 

“Should we demand the immediate imposition of the 
land tax, or the confiscation of the rent for the community, 
we would meet with obstinate resistance. A gradual in- 
crease of the tax on land, with a gradual reduction of 
taxes on improvements and commodities for use, would 
never be felt by the land-owners, and the revolution would 
be so imperceptible that no one would suffer, and all 
would be benefited by the change. In the course of ten 
or fifteen years, the tax would be equivalent to the full 
rental, and speculation being totally destroyed, and the 
ownership of land giving no advantage to capitalists, the 
latter would relinquish their claims, and the soil could 


4 


78 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


be appropriated by the community, which could institute 
co-operation in cultivation. In the meantime, while the 
land is quietly passing into the hands of the common- 
wealth, the nation could acquire all the other means of 
production, and distribution, and Socialism would be- 
come a reality. 

“But the objection will be advanced that it is robbery 
to nationalize the products of labor. The individual 
should own all the wealth that he has created, but should 
not invade the rights of others. We have seen that it is 
society that creates land values, and that is one of the 
reasons advanced for the nationalization of land. The in- 
diivdual living apart from society, in the wilds of the 
Orient, or in the jungles of the Occident, could never 
accumulate more than the barest competence, and, in 
many cases, he would be fortunate in securing the neces- 
sary means of subsistence. Why is it that the same in- 
dividual grows wealthy in a highly civilized state of so- 
ciety? Because, in the manipulation of trade and in the 
complication of industry, he silently appropriates the 
wealth created by society. 

“An isolated individual, having no one to fleece, and 
deprived of human co-operation, would not make more 
than the equivalent of ten cents per day, whereas now his 
labor creates ten dollars of wealth in the same time. The 
ten cents is due to his individual efforts, and nine dollars 
and ninety cents is the wealth produced by society as a 
whole. Hence, in every creation of wealth, there are two 
distinct factors, the individual and society, and there 
should be two distinct portions, one going to- the mem- 
ber and the other to the collective membership. The 
progress of the ages is the accumulated wealth of society. 
The artist borrows his ideas from his contemporaries, and 
they have appropriated the knowledge of their ancestors, 
and thus we inherit the gifts of those whose bones have 
returned to dust, and whose names have faded from the 
memory of living generations. The inventor gets an idea 
from one piece of machinery, and adds this to the sum of 
knowledge he has acquired from other sources, and 
uniting these isolated notions, he adapts them to new 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 79 

formations, and the result is a new invention and an ad- 
vance in mechanical skill. 

“These various ideas are the products of society, and 
the latter, after remunerating the individual effort, should 
appropriate the new invention, and use it for the benefit 
of mankind. Authors and scholars, statesmen and phil- 
osophers, owe their acquirements to society. All the 
works of civilization in the history of the world have been 
produced by society, and we can truthfully say that the 
complete destruction of co-operation would reduce man- 
kind to a state of savagery. 

“Our great industries are conducted on socialistic 
principles. A number of men come together and form a 
plan for the construction of a railroad. Every yard of 
earth that is cast into the valley, every cut that is made 
through the hills, every tunnel that is bored through the 
ribs of the mountains, every rock that is removed by the 
blast, every rivulet and stream that is spanned by a bridge, 
every tie and every rail, every pound of freight that is re- 
moved from place to place, every passenger that is con- 
veyed from city to city, every stroke of work accom- 
plished and every effort made in the building and equip- 
ment and running of that road, is an exemplification of 
co-operation. 

“Our trusts are conducted on socialistic principles.. 
Socialism is civilization, and competition is barbarism. 
Society, therefore, should own all the means of production; 
and distribution, for these are the creations of society. 

“But how should this be accomplished? Shall the 
State nationalize its wealth by confiscation or by pur- 
chase? In justice to the toiling millions who have made 
the wealth, in justice to society which has bequeathed the 
science of past ages, and which has directed our great in- 
dustries, the State should resort to confiscation. How- 
ever, I would not advocate that method, for there are cases 
where the consequences would be disastrous, and a sud- 
den revolution of that nature would possibly deluge the 
nation in human gore, and therefore I would suggest the 
gradual absorption of the national wealth by purchase, 
which I will explain in the near future. 

“Hoping that Aaron Nicholson will study the question 


So 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


more seriously before attempting to ventilate his views on 
the justice of the Single Tax, I am yours, etc., 

"ISAAC GILHOOLEY.” 


CHAPTER VIII. 

When Mr. Gilhooley’s surrejoinder was read by the 
professors of the University, it was decided to expel the 
youthful Achilles, whose sword had pierced the armor of 
Hector, and had been crimsoned with the blood of the 
Trojan hero. The Church blushed for the humiliation of 
her servant. The students of the University were sum- 
moned to the study hall, and the rector thus addressed 
them on the perils of adolescent genius : 

"My dear young men," he said, "this community, and, 
perhaps, this State and Nation, has been scandalized by 
the arrogant assumption and heterodox teachings of one 
who has been a protege of this venerable institution. The 
halls of this University have been consecrated by the wis- 
dom and learning of the land, hallowed as the Mecca 
where talent has made its annual pilgrimage, where art 
has been enshrined, where the light of science has been 
fed by the flame of the vestal virgins. The halls of this 
institution have been enriched by every charm, adorned 
with every grace, and blessed with the sweetest memories. 
This seat of learning has been immortalized by the deeds 
of her brilliant sons, who became famous in peace and in 
war, who defended their country’s honor in the national 
forum, and the glory of her flag in the field of carnage, 
and who have vied with the Grecian Muse in the temple 
of song. Their verses have charmed, like Orpheus, of 
mythological traditions, rocks and trees and woods and 
streams ; their eloquence has enchanted ruthless mobs and 
thrilled listless throngs, and transformed sober men into 
surging masses. This University, sacred to the memory 
of the nation’s millions, consecrated by the valor of a thou- 
sand heroes, immortalized by the genius of every profcs- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


8l 


sion, has been tarnished by the breath of a traitor, and 
desecrated by the shadow of a heretic. 

“Mr. Isaac Gilhooley has promulgated doctrines that 
are subversive of government and religion. His ideas are 
in conflict with the Federal Constitution, which has been 
purchased at the cost of years of suffering and rivers of 
blood. That document, formed by the wisdom of our an- 
cestors, secured the right of property to every individual, 
and this youthful anarchist fulminates against the validity 
of personal ownership. He would deprive every citizen 
of a home. He would go back to the savage state, when 
men wandered through the solitudes of the forest, lived 
in trees and caves and clothed themselves with the skins 
of wild animals. He would demolish our national capital, 
burn the legislative halls, abolish representatives and gov- 
ernors, banish the amenities of society, destroy all rights 
enjoyed by civilized people, and institute the reign of 
mobocracy and the triumph of fire and blood. What will 
the thoughtless, ignorant millions do when they read his 
teachings ? Will they not grow restless under the burden 
of their daily toil, and meditate the dethronement of the 
law, the inauguration of brute force, the banishment of 
intelligence from the helm of the nation, and the govern- 
mental supremacy of the proletaire? 

“It was the doctrine of such men as Mr. Gilhooley that 
eventuated in the breaking of the Simeonic sceptre, the fall 
of the diadem from the kingly brow, the decapitation of 
Benjamin the Sixteenth, the assassination of his royal 
consort, the destruction of the throne, the triumph of the 
Directory, the desecration of the Star Chamber, the sweep 
of violent passions ignited in the breasts of the rabble, and 
the institution of an epoch in New Israel which shall be 
known to all generations as the Reign of Terror. 

“We do not wish to see our fair and beautiful country 
shorn of every fruit of civilization by a cyclone of fury. 
We do not wish to see Mars encircled with a belt of fire, 
and to hear the rattle of his flaming car echoing among 
our hills and along our streams and through our dells and 
dales, mountain glens and shady vales. 

“Moreover, the doctrine advocated by Mr. Gilhooley 
is repugnant to common sense. Every man in this realm 


82 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


is a proprietor of land, at least the land upon which his 
residence stands. If he does not at present own his home, 
it is his desire to be able, at some future time, to rest under 
the shadow of his own roof-tree. No man wishes to be the 
tenant of the State. In his last communication, Mr. Gil- 
hooley goes a step farther, and attacks the right of prop- 
erty in every form, saying that all wealth is the product of 
society. This doctrine would lead to the very worst des- 
potism. It would give the government unlimited power. 
It would result in the establishment of a kingdom, and the 
rod of an absolute monarch would ere long be used against 
the freedom of the nation, and the millions of Toadians 
would crouch at the throne and lick the feet of their mas- 
ter. 

‘There is a penchant in the human heart to accumulate 
wealth, to own some property, and the visions of millen- 
arians will not conquer that innate aspiration. The poorest 
tramp that begs for bread at your door, would rebel 
against the tenets of these anarchists who would deprive 
him of the barest possibility of ever acquiring a foot of 
soil that he could call his own. The mendicant of to-day 
may be the capitalist of future decades. The ambition of 
man is to ameliorate his condition, elevate himself and his 
family in the social scale. The operative is contented with 
his toil, for he looks forward to the remuneration that will 
enable him to establish an industry and become a pro- 
prietor. Eradicate this ambition and you preclude the 
possibility of transition from the lower to the higher ranks, 
build a Chinese wall around man’s social status, establish 
the Oriental caste, forbidding the artisan to become a 
merchant, confining the rustic toiler to the life-long 
drudgery of the field and the furrow, closing the door of 
the parlor against the face of the scullion, placing the em- 
bargo on the domestic, filling the professional ranks with 
none but the children of grandees. 

“Destroy the ambition of gaining social prominence, 
intellectual distinction and commercial and financial im- 
portance ; extinguish the power of accumulated wealth, 
and you paralyze the motive nerves of national pros- 
perity, stop the wheel of fortune, stem the march of prog- 
ress, dwarf the genius of invention, sterilize mental vigor. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


83 


stifle intellectual development, quench the flame of science, 
impair physical strength, cultivate the germs of moral in- 
fection, encourage the growth of bestial passions, and fill 
the land with poverty, misery and crime. 

“The right of private property has not only been sanc- 
tioned by the traditions of all times, the customs of all 
peoples and the legislaiive enactments of all nations, but it 
is supported and legalized by the authority of the Church 
and the voice of God. The commandment promulgated 
three thousand years ago on the flame-lit summit of the 
Holy Mount says that ‘thou shalt not steal,’ and when the 
government appropriates the wealth created by human 
effort, that government violates the ordinances of the 
Most High. It is one of the sins crying to Heaven for 
vengeance. It is a crime that shall not be forgiven either 
in this world or in the world to come, for it is defrauding 
the laborer of his hire. 

“The poor man has struggled for a quarter of a cen- 
tury, through the chilly blast of winter and under the 
scorching rays of summer, from the early dawn until the 
shadows of night wrapped the world in slumber. He 
spends the few thousand dollars, the result of his sweat 
and toil, the sum total of his life’s labor, and he purchases 
a farm of land which he calls his own. The Single Tax 
theory is legalized in legislative action, and goes into op- 
eration. The farmer loses his home, and is forced in his 
declining years to seek the assistance of the cold, heartless 
world. Is that not robbery? Yea, it is worse than rob- 
bery; it is murder of the deepest dye, and the man who 
inculcates such detestable opinions, who would go so far 
as to legalize such injustice, is guilty of all the blood that 
it will wring from the hearts of the millions who will 
perish in the defense of their firesides. 

“I regret that Mr. Gilhooley has been misled by the 
vagaries of a distorted brain, and has drifted into the cur- 
rent of anarchy. He was the star of this institution and 
was destined, by the judicious application of his talents, 
to rank with the highest minds of the nation. He would, 
had his genius not been perverted by reading dangerous 
books, and contemplating wild, chimerical theories, have 
woven a wreath of glory to crown the brow of the nation. 


84 


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and his memory would have been encircled with the halo 
of immortality. This is a warning to aspiring talent. 

“Young men, be guided by the counsel of aged wis- 
dom. Great promises have been frustrated by hazardous 
steps, and lofty hopes have been wrecked on rocks and 
shoals. Many a ship, laden with precious gems and treas- 
ures of gold, has gone down beneath the boisterous waves. 
Loyalty to the law is the grandest virtue that can adorn 
the soul of youth, and disloyalty to the flag is the blackest 
crime that can stain the brow of a citizen. 

“The destiny of our country is in the hands of the 
rising generation. Adolescence is redolent of every charm 
and grace, and juvenile fancies are pregnant with visions 
of future glory. It is consoling to behold the buoyant 
hopes and lofty ambitions of our young men, and I would 
be loath to discourage them in their noble purposes and 
exalted aspirations. They are to be the heroes of the fu- 
ture. They are to preserve the purity of our government 
and defend the honor of our flag, and send it floating down 
the ages, covered wdth the glory of triumph in the cause 
of justice and liberty, and consecrated with the benedic- 
tion of a Republic rescued from the bondage of despotism 
by the flash of the sword. They are to make the laws of 
our land, and protect the weak from the strong arm of 
injustice. They are to be the fathers of the nation, the 
founders of homes, the framers of society, the custodians 
of morality the patrons of art, the teachers of science. 
Hence, their minds cannot be too well prepared. Their 
hearts should be isolated from the poison that has already 
inoculated society. They should be kept in the atmosphere 
of purity, and shun the withering breath of vice as they 
would avoid the deadly germs of contagion, or the mortal 
fangs of an asp. We have protected your unsuspecting 
simplicity, your child-like innocence of heart, from the 
fatal effects of anarchical association by ignominiously 
expelling that scorpion, Mr. Gilhooley, from this sacred 
retreat. 

“I pity his widowed mother, who lost her husband 
when Isaac was an infant. I pity his dear old grand- 
mother, who is now in her dotage. We would fain con- 
done the transgression of this youth in reverence to the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


«5 

memory of his sire, who was a noble captain of the Lost 
Cause , but this hallowed asylum of learning cannot har- 
bor revolution within its walls, or permit conspiracies to 
ripen under the shadow of its wing. The offender was 
amply warned of his misdemeanors, and he cannot allege 
ignorance in palliation of his crime. This University is 
endowed by the wealthy men of the South, and they will 
not permit their beneficiaries to sully their honor and rob 
them of their affluence. If the patrons of this institution 
should withdraw their support, our doors would be closed 
immediately. I hope that the enemy we have detected 
beneath our roof has no confederates or sympathizers 
among you.’" 

This address was prepared and afterwards published in 
the Standard, to convince the moneyed aristocracy that 
the University was not responsible for the opinions of 
Gilhooley. 

The students were dismissed, and they retired to the 
campus to consider the expulsion of their associate. Some 
were unequivocal in their expression of concordance with 
the action of the faculty, and they were not slow in de- 
nouncing the temerity of Isaac Gilhooley, and they were 
sincere in their attitude. Some were jealous of his su- 
perior calibre, and mental attainments, and although they 
could see no grave crime in the defense of an honest 
opinion, even when wrong, yet they were glad to have 
an adversary removed, and actuated by selfish motives, 
they endeavored to conceal their hypocrisy in sanctioning 
the course that had been pursued. A small number were 
heirs of wealthy planters of the South, and they conjured 
up, in their fervid fancies, the poverty that would fall on 
their homes when the confiscation act would be passed, 
and they were loud in their defense of the verdict which 
excluded their associate from the historic institution. A 
few were the sons of policemen, ward politicians and sa- 
loon-keepers, and in their pretensions to wealth and aris- 
tocracy, they not only concurred in the justice of the sen- 
tence, but deemed it prudent, and even obligatory, to 
hang Isaac Gilhooley before he would destroy the g>ov- 
ernment. 

But the majority of the students were very fond of the 


86 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


Irish reformer, as he was facetiously called by his com- 
rades, and they were unanimous in stigmatizing the ex- 
pulsion of their classmate as an act of contemptible cow- 
ardice, prompted altogether by consideration of public 
opinion which they did not have the moral courage to com 
front. Abraham McGillicuddy declared that the faculty 
were truckling to the money power behind the University. 
Nicholas Hellenmeyer said that the professors were afraid 
that they would lose their positions, and sacrificed a noble 
young man, fighting the battle of freedom, on the altar of 
their selfish ambition. 

Many of the students drew up a petition against the 
dastardly conduct of the University corps, and threatened 
to withdraw from the University unless Isaac were im- 
mediately recalled. This document was read to the faculty 
by Abraham McGillicuddy with an emphasis which clearly 
indicated his determination. The rector exculpated the 
students from any intentional malice, but claimed that it 
was criminal to support the views of an anarchist. To 
this speech McGillicuddy replied with real Irish elo- 
quence : 

“I consider you a criminal in condemning the honest 
convictions of a man who has made a thorough study of 
the labor question. If you had read, with an unbiased 
mind, the works that have engaged the attention of Isaac 
Gilhooley, in your heart you would agree with him. I 
say you would agree with him in your heart, but, like a 
brazen-faced hypocrite as you are, your lips would belie 
your opinion, and to pander to the sentiments of land 
kings and railroad magnates, you would swear that black 
is white and that night is day. I would not disgrace my- 
self by associating with the professors of this institution. 
I would not imperil my moral character by lingering 
under the same roof with a viper like you !” 

Saying this, Mr. McGillicuddy ordered his trunk to be 
sent to the Emerald Hotel, and he immediately left the 
grounds. The other students abandoned their bellicose 
attitude and dispersed, talking among themselves over 
the events of the day, and voicing their different opinions 
in all forms of speech, ranging from the nicely couched 
expressions of the diplomat to the tempestuous burst of 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 8/ 

eloquence, and bombastic phraseology of nervous tem- 
peraments and passionate natures. 

McGillicuddy was not long in locating Gilhooley, and 
the two reformers made arrangements for their warfare 
against the injustice which held millfons of people in the 
grim vice of thralldom. They decided tO' abandon the 
study of law, which they now regarded as a profession 
which flourished on human miseries, and depended solely 
for its existence on the perpetration of crime. 

“If all men were just,” they reasoned, “litigation would 
be unknown, for their difficulties originating in conflict 
of claims, could be adjusted by arbitration. There can 
never be but one just claim, for the justice of one claim 
logically excludes the justice of the opposite claim. Now, 
lawyers, who assume the defense of the unjust claim, nec- 
essarily criminate the innocent and exculpate the guilty. 
In fact, they must stifle the voice of conscience, and utilize 
every means of destroying the appearance of truth, that 
falsehood may triumph. If they hesitate to adopt criminal 
methods, they will make a complete failure in their profes- 
sion. 

“Besides, this is an age pregnant with great issues, 
which will decide the fate of civilized nations, and mighty 
agencies are requisite to counteract the forces now en- 
gaged in the deadly contest against justice and liberty, and 
we should use our influence and capacity to avert the ter- 
rible catastrophe that menaces this government, and im- 
perils the safety of.republican institutions.” 

“I think, Mac,” said Gilhooley, “we should enter the 
field of journalism, and spend the resources of our brain 
in the cause of humanity. Let us establish a reform paper 
where we will be at liberty to discuss these questions, and 
bring them before the world in their true color. Let us 
expose the false positions of labor and capital, exalt the 
one and dethrone the other. Let us stir up the sleeping 
millions to a sense of duty, and the terrible realities that 
confront them.” 

“I think,” said McGillicuddy, “that your plan is ad- 
mirable. We speak of the liberty of the press in this coun- 
try, but the word is only a high-sounding phrase of rhetor- 
ical skill employed to dupe the unwary.” 


BEYOND THE BLACR OCEAN 


“Liberty of the press !“ exclaimed Isaac, with a mock- 
ing laugh. “Do you know,” he continued, “that many 
subscribers have informed the Ledger to drop their names 
from the list since the appearance of my paper in its col- 
umns?” 

“Is that possible!” cried his hearer. 

“Yes,” replied Isaac. “The editor, this forenoon, 
showed me some of the communications that have come 
to his office, and really their language would be repudi- 
ated by the more respectable fishmongers of Billingsate 
Street. A flood of vituperation that would do no honor to 
the lowest member of the canaille.” 

“What reasons do the authors of those communica- 
tions assign for such abuse?” 

“Well, I took a copy of one of the letters, written by 
Elisha Wonterman, a distiller, who resides OU' Mulberry 
Street, and it is a fair sample of the rest,” replied Isaac. 
“I will read it.” 

“ ‘Editor of the Ledger : — Since you have opened your 
columns to the anarchistic element of this country, and 
allow the dirty whelps to abuse decent people, and call 
them murderers and hypocrites and scoundrels, because 
they save their money, I must withdraw my patronage. 
I could not allow my advertisement to appear in your hell- 
ish journal, which is disseminating contagion through- 
out the land. We are the owners of this country, and we 
wlil please ourselves, and will not consult you and your 
miserable crew of pickpockets and burglars and midnight 
assassins. If you intend to continue the course you have 
begun, I would advise you to take your dirty carcass out 
of this city as early as possible. The law-abiding element 
of this community will take you from your bed some night 
and lash your naked back just as we used to punish our 
dusky slaves. 

“ ‘Yours, 

“ ‘Elisha Wonterman.' ” 

Isaac and Abraham went to Mrs. Gilhooley to get her 
advice and support. The noble little matron admired the 
courage of the young men, and approved of their plan. 
She offered to advance the little money at her disposal to 
further the enterprise. Abraham said that he would visit 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


89 

his father, who lived in Baron, explain the cause of his de- 
parture from college, his determination to adopt journal- 
ism as a profession instead of the law, and perhaps could 
secure the influence and assistance of the elder McGilli- 
cuddy. 

Isaac remarked that the suggestion was very appro- 
priate and advised Abraham to leave immediately. Mc- 
Gillicuddy was not slow in making preparations for the 
journey, and was in ample time to get the fast-flyer which 
left early in the afternoon. 

On arriving at Baron, he went directly to his father’s 
home. Mr. McGillicuddy was rather surprised to see his 
son, but was more than pleased when he learned the cause 
of his expulsion (if I might call it such, for he had de- 
feated the sentence by leaving voluntarily), and the nature 
of his mission. 

“Ah, my boy ! there is good old fighting Irish stock in 
you. The MacGillicudd'y reeks of Ireland were not named 
after the founder of our house without a reasons. Two 
generations of intermarriage with the children of Abra- 
ham have not obliterated our national and family traits. 
Patrick McGillicuddy, of Donomore fame, would never 
see an injustice perpetrated without raising a hand in de- 
fense of the outraged party, and I am proud to see that 
same noble characteristic in his descendant at this remote 
day. Yes, I will furnish you with money to establish a 
reform journal, and I hope your pen will scathe every 
pharisee in the realm.” 

Abraham thanked his father for his approval and as- 
sistance, and after a few days spent in the old home, he re- 
turned to Meron to confer with his friend Isaac. Gil- 
hooley was delighted to learn of the success that crowned 
his mission. 

In the meantime the news of their expulsion from the 
college was spread far and wide, and the two young he- 
roes were the recipients of very encouraging letters from 
champions of truth and justice throughout the nation. 
The labor organizations of Deboreh held an enthusiastic 
meeting, and it was unanimously agreed to send the stu- 
dents letters of sympathy, and at the same time to solicit 
them to continue the crusade, with the promise of every 


90 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


support in their power. Isaac and Abraham thought that 
Deboreh would be the most desirable place to locate their 
enterprise, as it would at once introduce them to thou- 
sands of readers, and bring them into immediate promi- 
nence. 

So, getting the approval of friends anxious for their 
welfare, they departed the first day of January, 1855, for 
the metropolis of the New World. They were just enter- 
ing on manhood, Isaac having celebrated his twentieth 
birthday three months before, and Abraham was twenty- 
one the following March. 

They decided to call their journal “The Flaming 
Sword,” for they intended to wield it unsparingly against 
the foes of human right and liberty, without regard to age 
or rank, social etiquette or legal injunctions. The first is- 
sue of the paper contained a history of the difficulty at 
the University, in which the professors, especially the rec- 
tor, were scored without mercy, and represented as 
toadies and sneaks, who never expressed an honest opin- 
ion in their lives, whose hypocrisy would make the de- 
mons blush, who constantly prostituted their talents in 
the service of duplicity, and sacrificed principle and truth 
to attain their selfish ends. 

“You will never have a loyal, liberty-loving, law-abid- 
ng citizenship, until you have purified the seats of learning 
from the pestiferous breath of scorpions. The Meron 
University is a cloaca of corruption. The white-faced 
guardians of youthful innocence speak of God and the 
prophets, of prayer and sacrifice, when they do not believe 
there is a Supreme Being. If they had the faintest spark 
of faith, they could never burden their conscience with the 
responsibility of propagating falsehood and corrupting 
the heart of innocence with the virus of hypocrisy. We 
want truthful, sincere men, not liars and dissemblers, 
sycophants and equivocators.” 

In the same issue there was an account of the great 
strike in Kidron, and the participation of the Federal au- 
thorities in squelching the riots. “We cannot,” wrote 
Gilhooley, “sanction bloodshed, and we condemn mob- 
rule, whether the perpetrators be our friends or our ene- 
mies. But at the same time, there are many extenuating 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


91 


circumstances in this case. The employes went on a 
strike because they could not possibly live on the wages 
they were receiving from the railroad company. Perhaps 
the company was not in a position to pay more, since the 
management is compelled to pay eight per cent interest 
on stock watered about four times its real value, and while 
they are in the stealing business, it is not expected that 
they would show any partiality to their helpless victims. 
Let the railroads capitalize their stock at cost, declare six 
per cent dividends, and the wages of the employes will be 
increased three hundred per cent. 

“The government that will tolerate powerful corpora- 
tions to suck the life-blood from the veins of the wealth- 
producers, is guilty of all the murders actuated by desper- 
ation, all the thefts that are perpetrated, all the crimes that 
are committed, all the misery, sorrow, sickness and death, 
that follow the wake of poverty. If the wage-earners re- 
ceive their portion of the wealth created by labor, there 
would not be a pauper in the land, there would not be a 
ragged child, a hovel or a hut, there would not be a pang 
of grief arising from want or privation, there would not 
be a prison, a workhouse or a jail, for there would not be 
a criminal in the Republic. It is something worthy of re- 
flection that the dividends of great corporations increase 
in magnitude just in proportion to the diminution of 
wages paid to the laboring classes who work for these 
gigantic concerns. 

“Elias Forsemer, the great political economist, de- 
nouncing the aristocracy of New Israel, makes a sad com- 
ment on Toadian legislation, when he claims that this 
country suffers more from the monopolists than Dan from 
her titled nobility ; and as an antidote to the ever-increas- 
ing ills with which the vast corporations afflict our land, 
he suggests that the government compromise with these 
mighty magnates, and create dukedoms for them on the 
condition that they do not molest the peace of the millions 
by their cruel usurpations. It would be far better to have 
the Duke of Deboreh, the Earl of Engeddi and the Baron 
of Lidda, than the pestiferous monopolists, who, under 
the name of legitimate business, fill their maws with the 
blood of the toiling masses. If we could reward our mill- 


93 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


ionaires with titles, they would not be necessitated to steaf 
a much larger fortune in order to purchase the privilege 
of cleaning the cuspidores of Danish Lords ; and that is 
the real position of our Toadian nobles, who acquire the 
right of sitting under the wing of aristocracy, by exchang- 
ing their gold for an empty title. 

“And what is the condition of Toadian politics ? The 
maloder of its putridity nauseates every honest man in 
the Republic. Every party is inoculated with the virus of 
political corruption. The disclosures that have been 
made in Deboreh are startling. The history of politics in 
the Metropolis of the Empire State is but the history of 
every municipal government in the country. Bribery is 
the order of the day, and every public official has his price. 
It is not surprising that four thousand millionaires have 
been created in this country in the last quarter of a cen- 
tury. 

“Where is Toadian patriotism? A man that will sell 
his honor, his word, his vote for petty pelf, will barter his 
country’s honor in the hour of her deepest peril. Toadia 
is ruled by the money power, and the millionaires of this 
country despise the land of their birth because of the un- 
congeniality of its soil to the growth of aristocracy. Hav- 
ing murdered and robbed until their coffers are swelled 
with the fruit of their dishonesty, they go to- Dan to seek 
husbands and wives for their daughters and sons. A 
Toadian belle of wealth and promise would give her heart 
and hand to a titled vagrant rather than obscure the 
splendor of her life in conjugal union with the noblest son 
of the nation. There should be a law enacted forbidding 
such marriages under penalty of confiscation of all prop- 
erty possessed in this country by the delinquents, and 
perpetual ostracism from these shores, with the further 
penalty of being suspended from the first lamp-post in 
case the slightest attempt were ever made to return.” 

When the first issue of the paper came from the press, 
the newsboys in every part of the city were attracting the 
attention of all classes of people. They vociferated: 
“Here’s ‘The Flaming Sword !’ All about McGillicuddy 
and Gilhooley ! Here’s ‘The Flaming Sword !’ All about 
the professors at the Meron University and the Kidron 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


93 


strike ! All about the murder of railroad men and the 
Danish lords !’’ Men, women and children eagerly pur- 
chased the paper. Orders for another issue came in rap- 
idly, and before night ten thousand copies had been sold. 

The daily papers scored the two young editors. The 
railroad kings of the nation were interviewed, and they 
were unanimous in their denunciation of the reform paper, 
and said that the law-abiding citizens of Deboreh should 
drive Gilhooley and his friend from the city. Others said 
the authorities should prohibit such incendiary publica- 
tions. 

The next week every one was looking for racy develop- 
ments in “The Flaming Sword,” and more than thirty 
thousand copies were sold. The reputation of the journal 
was established, and the fortunes of Gilhooley and Mc- 
Gillicuddy were made. Every issue of the paper became 
more interesting. Disclosures of a startling nature were 
published week after week. The laboring element sang 
the praises of the editors in their council rooms, honest 
citizens indorsed the methods of the reformers, and lent 
their patronage to the movement. The local journals, 
especially those of the conservative type, found that they 
could not condemn “The Flaming Sword’’ at the bar of 
public sentiment, and accomplished a triumph for the 
plutocratic lords. 


CHAPTER IX. 

Late in the month of February there was a levee at the 
palatial home of Patrick Einstein, at which the culture of 
Deboreh was represented. Mr. Einstein was an influential 
merchant, who had inherited quite a fortune, and having 
made lucrative, yet honest, investments, he was now 
ranked among the opulent men of Deboreh. But he was 
better known for his noble qualities of head and heart. 
Educated in the Layman University, he had pursued let- 
ters during his life of comparative leisure, and had always 


91 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


cultivated the friendship of professional men. He was 
liberal in his views, a foe to bigotry or prejudice of any 
nature, spent his money liberally, yet usefully, was char- 
itable to the poor, independent in thought, a man of ver- 
satility and originality. 

He had admired the attitude of the young reformers, 
subscribed for their paper, formed their acquaintance, and 
encouraged them by his approval of their methods. Mr. 
Einstein recognized the evils of the age, and he regarded 
Socialism as the only antidote. Hence on this occasion 
he invited Gilhooley and McGillicuddy to the assembly. 

His daughters. Misses Biddy and Mary Ann Einstein, 
were also readers of “The Flaming Sword,” and ardent 
admirers of its spirit, and the courage and independence 
of the editors, and it was their desire to meet Gilhooley 
and his friend ; and this is another reason why Mr. Ein- 
stein had extended them an invitation. Besides Teddy 
Einstein, the only son of the family, was an intimate friend 
of the reformers, and had often spent evenings in their 
office, talking over the burning questions of the times. 

About eight o’clock the guests began to assemble, and 
before nine the drawing-rooms were full. Tw'o beardless 
young men had entered. One was a tall brunette about 
six feet in height, rather slender, but yet not lank. The 
other was of the blonde type, slightly above five feet ten 
inches, but stouter than his companion. Determination 
marked every feature in the visage of the former, and 
strong intellectual vigor was mirrored in his deep, bril- 
liant black eyes. 

The other young man was equally handsome, and 
while his facial expression was not so decided, yet when he 
spoke the most superficial observer could discover his 
mental acumen and the courage and strength of his char- 
acter. The other guests were attracted by the appearance 
of the two young men. 

“Who are those gentlemen conversing with Miss Biddy 
and her sister ?” asked an elderly matron of those around 
her. 

“The tall brunette is Mr. Gilhooley, and the blonde is 
his associate editor, Abraham McGillicuddy.” 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 95 

“Ah! those are the famous journalists who publish 
‘The Flaming Sword ?’ Why, they are mere boys.” 

“Yes, neither is twenty-one years of age.” 

“So youthful and yet bold enough to attack our time- 
honored institutions !” 

“Why it is supposed that they wish to abolish all law, 
and give the passions of the rabble boundless freedom.” 

“What a pity to see such talents perverted ! How they 
could adorn society ! They seem to be so polished, and 
besides they have had the advantages of a university edu- 
cation.” 

“You know, of course, that they were expelled from 
college for their radical utterances on the ownership 
land and other property?” 

“O, yes, I read in the ‘World’ at the time that Mr. Gil- 
hooley had advocated the confiscation of all property, and 
proposed to divide the wealth of the nation among the 
railroad employes, factory operators and tramps.” 

“Why, they have gone even further than that in their 
crusade against society. They are entreating the govern- 
ment to hang all the aspirants to noble titles, and give 
their property to the strikers and others of that disturb- 
ing element.” 

“I think it would be well to imitate our cousins be- 
yond the wave, and establish a monarchy here. They 
have never any serious difficulties in Dan, because the 
Queen would not tolerate such impudence from menials. 
You see, she is independent, and does not apprehend any 
danger from calling on the army to quash insurrections. 
In this country, the President would not hazard his chance 
of re-election by opposing the dross and scum of society, 
and respectable people are kept in dread of those lawless 
bandits.” 

“Well, we attach too much importance to liberty, and 
the ignorant masses take advantage of this. Why, only a 
few days ago my husband horrified me when he informed 
me of a little difficulty he had in the factory. One of the 
employes had violated Mr. Reisan’s rules, and was chew- 
ing tobacco, and when he was notified that he would be 
castigated for the offense, he really had the temerity and 


96 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


audacity to curse, and say that he was a Toadian citizen, 
and would do as he pleased/' 

“And what did Mr. Reisan do ?" 

“Why he discharged him forthwith.” 

“Well, he would not have escaped that easily with my 
husband. There is nothing in the world that Ebenezer 
loathes so much as disobedience and impudence from in- 
feriors. The day before yesterday, Ben, our coachman, 
was not to be found when I ordered the carriage. Of 
course, I could not go out that morning. Ben came up 
to the house tbout eleven o’clock, and an hour later 
Ebenezer walked in, and I reported the matter to him. 
Ebenezer called Ben and took him out to the stable, and 
a few minutes later I heard Ben screaming for mercy.” 

“Did Mr. Gehtheimer whip him?” 

“Whip him? Well I should think so! He gave him 
fifty lashes with the carriage whip, and I think Ben will 
never forget his medicine.” 

“Well, I think if Mr. Reisan would resort to that 
method there would be no more trouble in his factory.” 

“Why, of course not. What are servants for but to 
obey their masters? There have always been slaves in 
times past. Look at Greece and Rome ! There were far 
more slaves in those countries than freemen. Look at 
New Israel for more than a thousand years. The masters 
not only had the right to whip them, but could kill them, 
even without a cause. We should pass a law in this coun- 
try to enslave every man, woman and child that is not 
worth a specified sum. Then there would be no strikes. 
The master could take his recalcitrant slaves, and give 
them a thorough lashing, and that would end the matter. 
Why, there were no strikes among the Cushites before 
the war.” 

In the meantime Mrs. Reisan remarked to her com- 
panion : 

“Do you see how much those Einstein girls are mak- 
ing over those journalists?” 

But Mrs. Gehtheimer was so interested in the discus- 
sion of the class problem that she continued, without no- 
ticing the remark : 

“Don’t you know, I think it was a bad idea ever to have 


LEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


97 


allowed the Irish to enter this country ? They came here 
with their Christian ideas about the equality of men. 
Their God preached against class distinction, and the 
Apostles of the new religion began to propagate the tenets 
of their Master throughout the world. They subverted 
every power that opposed them, abolished slavery in every 
land, teaching that there were no longer Jew or Gentile, 
Greek or barbarian, bond or free, but all in all in Christ.” 

“Did they not inculcate the idea that the human race 
forms one great brotherhood?” interrupted Mrs. Reisan. 

“Yes, if I remember correctly, they teach that there is 
one God and Father, who is above all and in all and 
through all.” 

“Well, I should hate to think that I was created by 
the same God that brought those miserable tramps and 
servants into the world !” remarked Mrs. Reisan. 

“I should hate still more to think that we were all go- 
ing to the same heaven !” said Mrs. Gehtheimer. 

“O, I think that we will go to the same heaven,” ob- 
served her companion, “but it will be just like it is here. 
The wealthy, cultivated people will be waited on by the 
others with perfect submission and obedience.” 

“Ah ! there goes Biddy Einstein with Mr. Gilhooley !” 
exclaimed Mrs. Gehtheimer. 

“And do you see Mary Ann with Mr. McGillicuddy ?” 

“O, well ! the Einsteins have Irish blood in them, and 
it is no wonder they consort with that class of people. 
They say that Mr. Einstein is a great admirer of The 
Flaming Sword,’ and that Teddy pays frequent visits to 
its editors.” 

“What a pity ! Mr. Einstein is such a refined gentle- 
man, and besides he is an honored member of the social 
set, and it is too bad that he and his family should asso- 
ciate with anarchists.” 

Similar remarks were made in an undertone by various 
persons throughout the evening. Though many con- 
demned the positions which the reformers had assumed, 
yet all admired their genius and their accomplishments. 
They were the cynosures of every eye, and many a maiden 
heart beat faster when the handsome young editors es- 
corted Miss Biddy and Miss Mary Ann' to the dining- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


98 

room. The guests were scarcely seated at the table when 
Mrs. Gehtheimer addressed Mr. Gilhooley. 

‘T understand/' she said, “that you intend to estab- 
lish a communism in this country ?" 

“Well, I have not advocated that doctrine in any of my 
public utterances, but I do not repudiate the plausibility 
of such a form of government,” he replied. 

“Do you not think that your ideas are Utopian?” 

“Do you mean the ideas I have advanced in our pa- 
per?” he asked. 

“Yes. You are waging a crusade on wealth, are you 
not?” 

“No, not on wealth, only on legalized theft,” he an- 
swered. “I would make no distinction between the mid- 
night burglar who enters your premises and loots your 
treasures and the railroad robber who appropriates the 
product of the laborer’s toil. In fact, the latter is even 
more criminal, because he steals a poor man’s crust of 
bread, whereas the former lives on the luxuries of the 
rich.” 

“Do you think you will ever be able to accomplish the 
object of your ambition?” she questioned, fixing her 
small, keen eyes on him. 

“What do you intend to signify by the ‘object of my 
ambition’?” he asked, frankly. 

“Why, to divide the land among the people.” 

“I never had any such intentions,” he returned, coolly. 

“No? Why, I thought that was your doctrine.” 

“Then, madam, you have been misinformed,” he re- 
turned, with a smile that robbed the words of their curt- 
ness. “I am simply pleading for the justice of Socialism, 
an economic change in our industrial methods that will 
prevent the accumulation of vast wealth in the hands of 
the few, at the expense of the masses, and will throw open 
the resources of nature to millions of willing toilers. It 
will destroy the possibility of some thriving on the wealth 
produced by others. It will take the rod of despotism 
from the hands of trusts, stimulate industry, banish pov- 
erty, and make every earnest laborer comfortable and 
happy.” 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


99 


During the conversation the other guests listened 
breathlessly, and not a word was lost. 

“I hope,” then said Mrs. Gehtheimer, “that you will 
not succeed in making Miss Biddy a convert to your 
views.” 

Miss Biddy replied : 

“I am already a convert.” 

“What!” exclaimed Mrs. Gehtheimer, adding: “Mr. 
Gilhooley must be a necromancer to have enchanted you 
so soon.” 

“It is not so soon as you think,” replied the young 
girl. “I have read Mr. Gilhooley’s contributions to the 
Meron Ledger, and his controversy with Rabbi Nichol- 
son. Moreover, my father subscribes for ‘The Flaming 
Sword,' and I read every line of the paper. The views en- 
tertained by Mr. Gilhooley and Mr. McGillicuddy seem, 
in my mind, as clear as the noonday sun, and I fail to see 
how any intelligent person can refuse to accept the justice 
of Socialism.” 

Silence fell on the guests when this defense was made. 
After a few moments Mr. Gilhooley started the conversa- 
tion by a pleasant remark on the value of his convert. 

“I knew a gentleman in Meron,” said he, “who was 
an officer in the Federal army, and, after conquering the 
masculine heroes of the South, he was himself conquered 
by a fragile Southern beauty. And when I reflect on this 
incident, I have every reason to feel proud of the triumph 
I have won, in taking, to the Socialist camp, a maiden 
whose charms would have fascinated all the generals en- 
gaged in suppressing the late rebellion.” 

This little incident created good humor among the 
guests, which was expressed by their smiles and laughter. 
The conversation assumed a more cheerful, lightsome 
character, and many of the young people bantered Mr. 
Gilhooley at the expense of the blushing maid at his side. 
At about one o'clock the party filed out of the dining hall 
to resume their amusements in the parlors. Mrs. Reisan 
approached Mrs. Nehlmeyer, and began to speak of the 
merits of the gallant young men who seemed to be win- 
ning the heart of every damsel at the levee. 

LofC. 


ICX) 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


“Do you see,’" siaid Mrs. Reisan, “how the fair sex 
ogle and smile on the youthful crusaders ?” 

“Yes,” replied her companion, “they seem to make a 
grand impression here, and I am not surprised, for they 
are men of splendid caliber, and lofty aspirations. My 
daughter, Rosaline, thinks that they are the heroes of the 
age. She has been reading their record, and entertains 
the highest idea of their excellence, and when she was 
introduced to them this evening she was charmd with their 
manners. She told me that they really surpassed her 
dreams.” 

“Which one is the more admired ?” 

“Well, I cannot say,” responded Mrs. Nehlmeyer. 
“Many of the young ladies speak of Mr. Gilhooley’s state- 
ly form and wavy hair and sparkling black eyes, while 
others rave over Mr. McGillicuddy’s matchless grace. I 
think the fair victims that escape the one will be captured 
by the other. Cupid’s arrows are flying thick and fast 
among the ranks of beauty, and every maiden’s heart will 
bleed to-night.” 

“Why, Mrs. Nehlmeyer! I cannot see how young 
ladies of opulence and social prestige can go into raptures 
over those anarchists. Deboreh is full of young men just 
as brilliant as the editors of The Flaming Sword.’ ” 

“That may be, but the fact cannot be denied that they 
have made an impression. Besides, Mrs. Reisan, I can- 
not agree with you in calling them anarchists. If they 
were anarchists, Mr. Einstein would not have invited 
them to his house. They are men actuated by noble pur- 
poses, and they are expending their mental energies and 
defying the scorn of the world in the realization of their 
dreams of purifying society and redeeming the nation.” 

“Do you not think, Mrs. Nehlmeyer, that this inflam- 
matory sheet will excite riots, and encourage the popu- 
lace to ignore law and order?” 

“No,” replied Mrs. Nehlmeyer; “I think, instead, that 
it will inspire the masses with courage, form them into 
lawful associations, and enable them to present their con- 
solidated forces at the polls, and demand their innate 
rights from the despots who have long oppressed them.” 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


lOI 


‘‘You surprise me!” exclaimed her companion. “Pray, 
what right have those cads ?” 

“The right to the wealth which they produce, a • ight 
to the fruit of their toil, a right to the ownership of their 
persons and their powers, as ‘The F'laming Sword'^ has 
well expressed the idea.” 

“Do you really believe, then, Mrs. Nehlmeyer, that 
servants are equal to their masters?” sweetly asked Mrs. 
Reisan. “Why did not God make them wealthy if He in- 
tended them to be our equals ?” 

“God does not make servants. That is the work of 
men. It originated in usurpation,” explained Mrs. Nehl- 
meyer. 

“Well, for my part, I believe that some were born to 
be lords and some to be slaves, and this is necessary for 
the existence of society. If there were no menials, who 
would wait on us ?” 

“If there were no menials, we should be noble enough 
to wait on ourselves, and consider it no disgrace. Labor 
would be dignified, for the proudest in the land would 
toil. We are drifting back to the corrupt civilization of 
ancient Greece and Rome, when labor was stigmatized 
with the brand of infamy, as we read in the histories of 
those countries, imported by the Irish refugees ; and we 
do not marvel to see the most cultivated minds of those 
days, such as Aristotle and Plato, teaching the ideas that 
you have imbibed. I admire the spirit of the benign Zeno, 
the founder of Stoicism, who said that ‘All men are by na- 
ture equal. Virtue alone establishes a difference between 
them.’ ” 

“Well,” replied Mrs. Reisan to this defense of human 
equality, “you may think as you please, but the country will 
never enjoy the blessings of peace and prosperity till we 
undo the work of the Federal Government in the abolition 
of slavery. I think that institution, hallowed by the touch 
of time, and consecrated by the shadows of antiquity, 
should never have been subverted. It is the bulwark of 
civilization, the foundation of the social fabric, and I hope 
to see the whipping-post again called into requisition, not 
only for the dusky Cushites of the South, but for the poor 
white trash of the nation.” 


102 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 

“Your hop€s will never be realized in the glorious civ- 
ilization of our age, and especially in this country,” re- 
plied her companion. “The last drop of Toadian blood 
would be shed if any attempt were made to resort to those 
barbarous customs, to the brutality that stained the buried 
generations. You canot enthrall the citizens of this land 
of freedom, and I emphatically denounce your views as 
selfish and cruel.” 

“You think that Toadian citizens, as you call them, 
will not submit to the lash ? Who made them citizens ? 
Can we not change the constitution, disfranchise them 
by establishing property qualifications for the rights of 
voting? Your Toadian citizeir, indeed! Mrs. Gehthei- 
mer just told me this evening that her husband lashed her 
coachman the other day for remissness. I suppose he 
thought that he was a Toadian citizen till he felt the lash 
on his back, which forcibly reminded him that he was a 
Toadian servant.” 

“O, yes, it is very easy to abuse a poor simpleton like 
Ben, and any man who would take advantage of that ninny 
is a varlet of the deepest dye. But perhaps Mr. Gehtheimer 
is not to be censured, for he also receives the lash from his 
vixenly consort. That disreputable virago is capable of 
committing any crime. She is a child of vice, and she was 
nurtured at the breast of degradation.” 

“Why, Mrs. Nehlmeyer! What do you say? Mrs. 
Gehtheimer belongs to the social set.” 

“She belonged to the social set because her antece- 
dents were unknown there. Her mother was a public 
woman in Sohonan, where she made her money by wor- 
shipping at the shrine of Aphrodite. Her daughter in- 
herited the same vocation from her scarlet dame, erected 
a crystal palace, consecrated her youth and beauty on the 
altar of lust, and officiated as high-priestess of the lupercal 
festivities in the temple of Venus. When her fortune had 
reached several millions, she came to Deboreh and passed 
as the widow of a wealthy miner. Ebenezer Gehtheimer, 
a poor lawyer, who never had a case in court, to escape 
starvation, married her for her gold. And since then he 
has acted as her agent in making investments, which have 
multiplied her wealth many times. Even when she lived 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


103 


a public life in Sohonan, she became interested in the gold 
mines of the West, purchased large tracts of land, and 
afterwards sold her possessions at a very high figure, and 
thus made fabulous sums.” After recounting these facts, 
Mrs. Nehlmeyer said to her companion: “Now, you 
have the history of this painted hypocrite, who apes aris- 
tocracy. My husband learned her antecedents when visit- 
ing Sohonan last year. Every one there is acquainted 
with Eliza Hannon, the queen of the demi-monde, and 
the same Eliza Hannon is now known in the social set as 
Mrs. Gehtheimer. Mr. Einstein does not know of the 
vileness of this woman, or she would not be here to-night. 

I shall see, however, that he will be informed, and your 
goddess, Mrs. Gehtheimer, will never again tarnish the 
purity of the Einstein home with the poison of her breath. 
Good-evening, madam !” and Mrs. Nehlmeyer walked 
away from her companion. 

The night had almost vanished and the guests, after a 
delightful entertainment, began to depart, each one assur- 
ing the hostess that the occasion would be long remem- 
bered in the social annals of Deboreh. The two reformers 
drove to the hotel, and before retiring, they smoked a 
cigar and commented on the events of the levee. 

“I think, Mac,” said Isaac, “that Mrs. Gehtheimer is a 
termagant.” 

“She is a half-educated, pompous old hag, who is too 
superficial to know her deficiencies, and who has not 
enough sense to hide her ignorance,” said McGillicuddy. 

“My God ! Fd hate to be married to that one ! I bet 
her husband never doubts the existence of hell, for he has 
it right at home.” 

“By the way, Gil, that reminds me of a little incident 
that occurred one night at a spiritualistic seance in 
Baron. Mr. Lohlstcin married a woman of a tempestuous, 
supercilous temperament, and she made his life miserable. 
After his death, like all Pharisaical women, she went into 
hysterics, and pretended that she wished to be buried with 
her husband. Of course, everybody was disgusted with 
the hypocrisy of the old dame, for it was well known that 
she had never loved him. One night, about six months 
after the funeral, she thought that she would like to have 


104 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


a few words with Jacob, and she consulted a medium. It 
is reported that the shade of Jacob appeared, and his 
widow asked him if he were happy. Mind you, she was 
already engaged to another at the same time. The voice 
of Jacob was heard to say that he was happy. ‘Are you 
as happy as you were with me?’ she asked. ‘O, yes,’ he 
said, ‘far happier than I was with you.’ ‘Then I suppose 
you are in Heaven?’ she asked. ‘No,’ said he, ‘I am in 
hell.’ ” 

After the laughter that followed this recital had ceased, 
Isaac said : 

“Don’t you know that when you mentioned love, I 
thought of my experience this evening? To be honest, 
Mac, I believe there is something in love, after all. I felt 
mighty funny when I was in company with Miss Biddy.” 

“I can sympathize with you, for my heart throbbed 
every time I looked into the liquid depths of those beauti- 
ful orbs of Miss Mary Ann,” said McGillicuddy, with a 
laugh in his voice. “In fact, Gil, I believe I’m struck — 
that’s the word, isn’t it?” 

“Well,” said Isaac, “we may console ourselves that we 
have two such handsome girls to love.” 

“By the way, Gil, what is love?” 

“I would call it an intangible substance that has nei- 
ther height, depth nor breadth, yet leaves a mighty weight 
on the heart.” 

“That is good,” said Abraham, “but I think I can give 
a better definition than the one you offered.” 

“Give it to us, then,” said his companion. 

“Love,” said McGillicuddy, “love is an inward inde- 
scribableness and an outward all-overishness.” 

“That is capital, Mac! Let us now go to bed, and 
dream of our sweethearts,” and the friends retired to rest 
a few hours. 


CHAPTER X. 

In the month of May, 1855, on the shores of the 
Nashan, in the kingdom of Dan, a dreamer was wander- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


10$ 


ing through the realms of fancy, and his mystic wand 
struck an empire, and it faded like the mirage of the 
desert. He saw in his heated, fervid imagination, insur- 
rection, victory, power. He saw all peoples crouching at 
the throne of his royal queen, and all the nations vanish- 
ing before the onward march of a world-wide empire. 
Lord Aran drove to the lovely city park in the suburbs of 
Hosea. The winged songsters were caroling their matin 
lays amidst the leafy bowers, chanting their praises to 
Him who made the glorious universe. The car of Phoe- 
bus rolled across the purple space on wheels of glittering 
gold, and the smiles of the young day chased the frowns 
from hill and vale and mead and field. The gauzy veils 
of floating vapor arose from the briny flood, like Thetis, 
the daughter of the Sea. The morning air was balmy and 
fragrant with the breath of budding life. The scent of 
flowers floated on the wing of the breeze, and filled every 
living soul with joy. The woods were alive with the voice 
of the Dryads, and the song of the Nymphs mingled with 
the splash of the fountains, and the gush of limpid rills. 
Lord Aran was not moved by the radiant smile of nature, 
but like the ancient hero, immoralized by the harp of the 
Grecian bard, ‘Tn his black thoughts revenge and slaugh- 
ter roll, and scenes of blood rise dreadful in his soul.^’ 
^‘Yes,” said the haughty nobleman, “we will humble 
the pride of this youthful nation that dare check the 
growth of our empire. The late message of the President 
of Toadia is an insult to our arms. This Jechonias Doc- 
trine ! We will not be hampered by such nonsense. We 
cannot conquer them, for a Toadian will die for his coun- 
try and his home. Our hopes were blasted in the Revolu- 
tion; and in the battle of the seas, where we had been 
crowned as queen by the voice of the nations, our ships 
went down before the desolating fire of their mighty guns. 
We failed again in the rebellion of 1826, when we thought 
that the days of the Toadian Republic were numbered, and 
the Danish flag was destined to float in triumph over the 
towers of Lidda. But the symbol of the Confederacy fled 
from the dark and bloody ground, and the banner of unity 
was hailed from the frozen banks of Zedad to the golden 
sands of the Doric Gulf. 


Io6 BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN’ 

“But we have crushed them financially. To-day we 
own fifteen billion dollars of Todian wealth from which we 
draw an annual income of one billion five hundred mill- 
ions. The Toadians are a lot of big boys, that will fight for 
glory, but they have no idea of finance. A child could 
deceive them in a business transaction. Besides they never 
utilize their advantages. They boast of honor, and if you 
strike them on that point, you can gain any object. 
Honor ! As if such a virtue existed anywhere but among 
imbeciles ! I wouldn’t give a penny for all the honor in 
the world ! It is the ruin of men and nations. However, 
it is well that there are so many fools that can be flattered 
by that empty name, for wise men can suceed by their 
mistakes. 

“Yes, we are excluded from South Toadia, because the 
-citizens of the Toadian Republic think that they are in 
honor bound to defend the Jechonias Doctrine. Had it 
not been for that damnable opinion, the Danish Lion 
to-day would roam the forests of the South, unmolested 
by the cry of the Eagle from the North. But we will use 
Toadian honor to our advantage. In its name we will 
demolish the Jechonias Doctrine, and the king of beasts 
will conquer the earth, and the queen of birds will sweep 
the heavens. By a little chicanery, by soft, oily adulation, 
we will gain the confidence of the Eagle, and draw her into 
the mouth of the lion, and Todian honor will be lost in 
Danish empire. 

“They call their country the land of the brave, and 
boast that their flag has led the sons of freedom to the 
temple of victory. We will use this puerile sentiment in 
advancing our intrigues. We will send our emissaries to 
Ammon, and incite the inhabitants of that island to re- 
bellion against the government of Reuben. Of course, 
the Toadians will lend their support to the insurrection, 
which will bring on a war between the two countries, and 
will culminate in the annexation of Ammon to the Toadian 
Republic, and the Jechonias Doctrine will be annulled by 
its violation, and the lion will be at liberty to roam through 
the jungles of the New World. I will mature this plan 
and before fifteen years the empire of the sea will become 
the empire of the world. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN l&J 

**0, my heart leaps with joy when looking down the 
vistas of the years, I see the blood of the Toadian heroes 
mingling with the waters that lave the shores of Ammon, 
the clash of fleets on the swelling surge, the shrieks of 
death that come from sinking ships driven to destruction 
in the battle’s awful fury. March on, ye haughty sons of 
freedom, march on to your graves in the liquid depths, 
where your bodies will feed the aquatic broods. March 
on, ye sons of the revolutionists, who humbled our flag 
on your distant hills and shed the blood of our ancestors in 
your deep defiles, and left them a prey to vultures that 
build their eyries on the lofty mountain peaks. March 
on, ye vain gasconades, ye vaunting band of guerillas, ye 
ignorant hordes of mountaineers, ye progeny of rebels 
and traitors, ye offsprings of the proletaire, who would 
aspire to noble rank. We will cheer ye on to battle, and in 
our hearts laugh at your stupidity. We will pretend to be 
friends, forget the past and call ye by the endearing name 
of cousins, give a few empty titles to your moneyed 
canaille, and win their love and confidence. If the world 
consolidates its ranks against you, we will join the mighty 
armament and be the loudest in denouncing your atroci- 
ties, tear down the pillars of your temple, and hurl an- 
athemas on your guilty head. If you succeed, we will 
beguile you into an alliance with us, urge you to crown 
the brow of your ruler with the royal diadem, and ere 
long, by intermarriage with our regal house, the scepter 
of Dan will rule the empire of the West. Great and glori- 
ous are these dreams of future power and conquest ! They 
are worthy of the ancient bard who built the throne of 
Osiris amidst gleams and flames of purple light that roll 
*m glittering billows* in that vast realm of spheres that 
fleck and jewel and spangle the broad firmament of 
heaven. Homer, revelling with Grecian gods on the 
cloud-capped peaks of Olympus, never drank more freely 
from Aganippe’s silvery tide, and the Muse of the frozen 
North might leave the marble halls of Valhalla, where 
heroes celebrate their triumphs amidst regal splendor, and 
borrow the visions begotten in the womb of Danish 
genius, and fill her soul with the inspirations of the god- 
dess enthroned on the borders of the western main.” 


io8 


BEYONK THE BLACK OCEAN 


CHAPTER XL 

The Presidential election was to occur in November, 
A new issue came before the people. Hitherto, the great 
questions were protection and free trade. The defenders 
of the latter were called liberals, and they advocated that 
it was to the interest of the Republic to allow all nations 
to sell their merchandise to the dealers of Toadia without 
any restrictions, except a moderate tariff for the purpose 
of creating a revenue to defray governmental expenses. 
The protectionists claimed that the infant industries of the 
country should be protected by the imposition of a high 
tariff on foreign importations, and they argued that the 
manufacturer, not being compelled to cope with the cheap 
labor of New Israel, could afford to remunerate his opera- 
tives with higher wages. High tariff, in their creed, meant 
high wages, and a low tariff meant low wages. The lib- 
erals contended that low tariff meant low prices for the 
necessaries of life, and with a modest compensation, the 
laborer could easily provide himself with all comforts; 
whereas the more advanced wages promised by the pro- 
tectionists would be consumed in the increased price of 
food and clothing. 

The laboring element were divided in theii* opinion as 
to the merits of the two political doctrines. Some voted 
for the liberal party and others for the protectionists ; and, 
hence, their power in wielding the franchise for the 
amelioration of social conditions was lost. In 1855, the 
liberals adopted in their platform the unlimited coinage 
of silver on a par with gold at the ratio of sixteen to one ; 
and the protectionists vowed to maintain the sound money 
standard. The labor party was again absorbed by the 
silverites and gold bugs. '‘The Flaming Sword” took an 
active part in the campaign, and admonished the laboring 
classes to sever allegiance with the old political creeds, 
and formulate a platform that would advance the interests 
of the producers. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


109 


One evening in August, Isaac and Abraham called at 
the Einstein house, where they had been weekly visitors 
ever since their attendance at the levee, when they had 
met for the first time Misses Biddy and Mary Ann. The 
large double parlors were brilliantly illuminated, and the 
two young ladies were waiting for their lovers. The door- 
bell rang, and Gilhooley and McGillicuddy were ushered 
into the drawing-room, where they found the bewitching 
damsels engaged in rendering the latest musical compo- 
sition. Isaac took a seat beside Biddy, and Abraham oc- 
cupied a sociable with Mary Ann in the next parlor. 

“By the way, Isaac,” said Miss Biddy, “I see ‘The 
Flaming Sword’ is dealing quite comprehensively with 
the financial question. I have been reading your com- 
munications, but I do not thoroughly grasp the situation, 
and I wish to ask a few questions this evening, if you will 
favor me with your information.” 

“Why, certainly, Miss Biddy, I am only too glad of the 
opportunity. What particular information do you de- 
sire ?” 

“Well,” said she, “I do not understand the full import 
of the exception clause.” 

Isaac’s admiring glance rested for a moment on the 
bright, intelligent face turned so confidingly toward him ; 
then he began : 

“An act was passed in 1827 issuing greenbacks to de- 
fray the expenses of the war, and this money was legal 
tender for all debts. It was the money of the government. 
Within a few months, the bankers had the exception 
clause passed, in virtue of which the government money 
was not available in payment of duties and interest on 
public debts, which was to be paid in coin. At that time 
there was one hundred and eighty-five premium on gold, 
and there was seventy-six cents duty on sugar. Now the 
importer would pay two dollars and sixteen cents in green- 
backs for seventy-six cents in gold, and instead of paying 
one dollar and seventy-six cents for his sugar, he actually 
paid three dollars and sixteen cents, or one dollar and 
forty cents more than he would have paid if greenbacks 
were a legal tender for all debts without exception. The 
gold banker could take the two dollars and sixteen . cents, 


i 


no 


BEYOND THE BLACK. OCEAN 


paid by the importer for seventy-six cents, and buy, with 
that, government bonds at face value, and draw his in- 
terest in gold. Besides these advantages accruing to the 
gold banker, there was a great demand created for his 
metal, which immediately enhanced its value.” 

“You have made it so clear that I comprehend it thor- 
oughly,” said his fair listener. “Now you must explain 
what is meant by the contraction of the currency.” 

“Immediately after the war,” continued Isaac, “the 
greenbacks were called in and cremated, thus contracting 
the volume of money in circulation.” 

“What effect did this act produce?” questioned Miss 
Einstein. 

“It depreciated prices and caused the financial ruin of 
every debtor in the country. Mr. Sampson, we will pre- 
sume for the sake of illustration, has purchased a farm 
for ten thousand dollars, when corn was six dollars a 
barrel. He paid five thousand dollars in cash and gives 
his note for the remainder. Corn has now fallen to three 
dollars a barrel, and consequently it will take twice the 
amount of corn now that it would have taken previously to 
the contraction of the currency.” 

“That is a very clear illustration,” commented the 
girl. “Now tell me what is the credit strengthening act. 
You are my tutor, and I am going to utilize the privilege 
of a tyro, and ask many questions.” 

“That is right. Miss Biddy ; I am at your service,” an- 
swered Isaac, gallantly. “The credit strengthening act 
was passed by Congress in 1833 virtue of which the 
bonds sold at sixty per cent., and made payable in coin, 
that is, either gold or silver, were now made payable in 
gold alone. Finally the demonetization of silver was ac- 
complished by the intrigue of Danish capitalists, who 
sent an agent to this country with millions of dollars to 
bribe Congress. Gold was made the money standard, 
and the circulation of silver was contracted.” 

“What results followed the demonetization of the white 
metal?” asked she. 

“There has been an increased demand for the yellow 
metal, and consequently, its quantity being limited, the 
price has been enhanced and all commodities measured by 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


III 


that standard have fallen proportionately. When gold 
and silver were on a par, wheat was worth one dollar per 
bushel. Since the limitation of silver coinage, its function 
in the money market has been curtailed, and its value has 
depreciated fifty per cent, and the result is that all articles 
of consumption have fallen fifty per cent. Twenty years 
ago a bushel of wheat would pay interest on twenty dol- 
lars, and now it will pay interest on only ten dollars. 
Debtors have been ruined and creditors have made for- 
tunes by the lestrictions imposed on the coinage of silver, 
and the removal of those restrictions would depress the 
value of money and elevate the value of commodities, and 
thereby give the producer an opportunity to meet his ob- 
ligations and discharge the burdens that encumber his 
home.” 

“Do you mean that free silver would solve the social 
problem ?” 

“By no means. It would have no effect on the labor 
problem. It would assist the debtor, by enabling him 
to discharge his obligations at a discount of fifty per cent, 
and it would curb the power of the creditor class by reduc- 
ing the value of their bonds. It would be no injustice to 
those who invested in bonds, or lent money, when the 
two metals were on a par at the ratio of sixteen to one ; 
for the bonds purchased in those days would, by the un- 
limited coinage of silver, fall to the original purchase 
price. In fact, justice requires that debts contracted when 
the coinage of both metals were restricted by no legal en- 
actments, and were legal tender for all debts, should be 
paid in either metal. With the facilities of mining, silver 
has fallen, and with the multiplication of machinery, all 
other products have depreciated accordingly. If silver 
had not been demonetized, gold, though limited in quan- 
tity, would likewise have depreciated in value in the same 
ratio as other commodities; and to-day one bushel of 
wheat would pay a debt which now requires two bushels 
of wheat to pay. Gold was adopted as the money stand- 
ard simultaneously by all the countries of New Israel, and 
the great demand for gold has kept up the price of the yel- 
low metal. However, we will offer another illustration. I 
will presume that I lent you one thousand dollars in gold 


II2 


BEYOND TEE BLACK OCEAN 


this year when the commercial value of a gold dollar is 
worth one hundred cents. The free silver bill is passed, 
and you can take five hundred gold dollars and buy one 
thousand ounces of silver bullion, practically speaking, 
and have this bullion coined into one thousand silver 
dollars, and thus you make, and I lose, five hundred dol- 
lars. Do you see the injustice that would be done to me ?” 

“No,’' said Biddy. “I do not understand your illus- 
tration. A silver dollar will buy just as much as a gold 
dollar.” 

“Yes,” replied Isaac, “because the government has 
charge of the mints, and limits the coinage of silver to a 
certain quantity, and thus it keeps up the money price of 
silver. But remove the limitations of coinage and silver 
will fall from its money value to its commercial price. As 
an illustration: The South Toadian silver dollars are 
only worth fifty cents here, though they contain as much 
silver as our silver dollars.” 

“Well, the coinage of gold is not limited,” said Biddy, 
“and yet it does not fall in price.” 

“For the simple reason,” responded Isaac, “that gold 
is scarce, and all the mining facilities of the world could 
not create a superabundance of the yellow metal, whereas 
silver abounds in many countries, especially in our own, 
and with our modern mechanical appliances, the nation 
would soon be flooded with silver, and the price would 
fall to its bullion value, and the ratio between the bullion 
value of silver and gold is thirty to one. If the silverites 
would consent to the coinage of a silver dollar that con- 
tains one hundred cents in bullion, there would be no 
injustice in the movement, but they show their dishon- 
esty in attempting to palm off half dollars for whole dol- 
lars. The law demonetizing silver was an unjust law, for 
it discriminated in favor of gold, thereby increasing the 
wealth of those who held bonds and other securities ; but 
we must not rectify one wrong by perpetrating another 
wrong. The creation of the gold standard was an injus- 
tice to those who were in debt, and the unlimited coinage 
of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one is an injustice to 
the creditor class, who have made this money when a 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN II3 

dollar was worth one hundred cents, and who are now 
paid in a coin worth only fifty cents.” 

“So you think that the silver bill would benefit no one 
except those in debt ?” 

“It would help the debtor class and would temporarily 
check the power of the creditor class, but in the course of 
time, the same difficulties would arise under the silver 
standard as we now experience under the gold standard. 
And it would not relieve the present strained condition of 
the laboring class. It would raise the wages of the toilers 
for the simple reason that their wages would be paid in 
cheap money, and this inflated currency would have but 
half the purchasing power of gold, and the condition of the 
laborer would remain the same. You must bear in mind 
that wages does not depend on capital, that industry is 
not limited by capital, and the solution of the problem 
would be seen at a glance. The writers on political econ- 
omy were confronted with the fact that wages were higher 
in new countries than in old countries, in sparsely popu- 
lated countries than in densely populated countries. In- 
crease in productive power and wealth was marked by de- 
preciation of wages. The theory that wages depends on 
capital would answer this difficulty, for wages must de- 
crease according as the increase of laborers necessitated a 
more minute division of capital. But there was a moral 
side to this question, and Reman won the esteem and ap- 
plause of every government in New Israel when he at- 
tribted the poverty that follows the march of progress to 
natural causes instead of social mal-adjustments. This 
famous divine advocated that population increases in a 
geometrical ratio, and the means of subsistence in an 
arithmetical ratio. Let us call, he says, the population 
of this island eleven millions, and suppose the present 
produce equal to support that number. In the first 
twenty-five years the population has doubled itself, and 
there are now twenty-two millions. The means of sub- 
sistence has also doubled, and it will support the popula- 
tion. The next twenty-five years the population has 
increased to forty-four millions and the means of sub- 
sistence to thirty-three millions. The next twenty-five 
years the population has increased to eighty-eight mill- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


I14 

ions, and the means of subsistence will only support half 
that number. Taking the whole earth instead of this island, 
emigration would be excluded, and supposing the present 
population equal to one thousand millions, the human 
species would increase as the numbers, i, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 
64, 128, 256, and subsistence as 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. In 
two centuries the population would be to the means of 
subsistence as 256 is to 9, and in three centuries as 4,096 
is to 13. The theory of wages advanced by Mitheim 
maintains that wages falls as the increase in the number 
of laborers necessitates a more minute division of capital, 
and according to the Remanian doctrine, poverty appears 
as increase in population necessitates the more minute di- 
vision of subsistence. It is easily seen that these two 
theories are substantially identical. 

“Reman advocated that any act of charity, the estab- 
lishment of asylums for the poor, aged, infirm, orphans, 
etc., was detrimental to the human race, as it encouraged 
marriage on the part of those who were not in a position 
to provide for a family, as they know they and their fam- 
ilies would be supported by public alms in case of neces- 
sity. The theory of Mitheim and Reman arc responsible 
for all the social crimes of the past century. 

“What disproves the Remanian theory is the fact that 
the most densely populated countries are the wealthiest. 
They have the greatest abundance of those articles that 
gratify human desires. Dan is far more wealthy than 
Reuben, the eastern States of Toadia are far more wealthy 
than the new States of the west. You may survey the 
entire globe during all the ages of history, and the truth 
confronts you that, with the increase of population, comes 
an increase in wealth. The curse of poverty appearing in 
old countries is not due to over-population, but to an un- 
just distribution of wealth. Rent, interest and profits ab- 
sorb the increase, and constantly depress wages. Until 
these are abolished, every facility of production, every in- 
vention formed by human genius and manual skill, every 
increase in the wealth of the nation, will not only not 
alleviate the condition of labor, but will depress the wage- 
earner more and more, till he seeks refuge in death. This 
is the terrible crime which I have so fiercely denounced 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


"5 


and for which I have been arraigned as an anarchist. So- 
cialism would destroy the monopolization of opportuni- 
ties, and divert the money, which is now paid in rent, in- 
terest and profits, from the coffers of the landlord and 
capitalist, to society."' 

“So you think that free silver would not have any last- 
ing results?’" asked Miss Einstein. 

“No, free silver would not effect even a temporary re- 
lief, except in certain lines, and even then its advantages 
would not be permanent. ‘Money is merely a contrivance 
for diminishing the friction of exchange," and it is entirely 
unproductive. It is true that it aids labor by facilitatng 
exchange."" 

“Since money merely represents values, why could not 
the government issue paper money instead of silver and 
gold certificates ?’" 

“Simply because paper in itself has no value. If we 
would make our paper money representative of something 
that has value, say a bushel of wheat, a paper dollar would 
serve the same purpose as a silver or gold dollar. In some 
countries of antiquity, wealth was estimated by kine. 
Taking a bushel of wheat for the standard of value, a man 
who owns a thousand paper dollars, would be worth a 
thousand bushels of wheat, and he could exchange those 
dollars for any other commodity, since all wealth would 
be measured by the value of wheat.” 

“But would not wheat fluctuate, and hence create 
fluctuations in money ?” questioned the young lady. 

“Wheat being taken as the standard of value,” ex- 
plained Isaac, “all other articles would fluctuate accord- 
ing to the value of wheat, but the value of wheat would 
remain permanent. I will give you an illustration. Let 
us suppose that wheat is worth one dollar a bushel, and 
corn fifty cents a bushel. The next year there is a mag- 
nificent crop of wheat, so that one bushel of this cereal 
product has not cost any more labor than a bushel of corn. 
Wheat will not fall to fifty cents a bushel, but the price of 
corn will be advanced to one dollar a bushel. And so with 
all other commodities.” 

“What article would you select as the standard of 
value ?’* 


Il6 BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 

'‘I would establish a labor dollar. You see labor, after 
all, is the basis of our money system. We call a certain 
quantity of gold or silver, a dollar, because it requires a 
certain amount of labor to secure those quantities. Now 
there is a two-fold disadvantage in employing the precious 
metals for money. In the first place, since the function of 
money consists in representing values to facilitate ex- 
change, we should adopt a standard which does not cost 
labor to procure, and make it represent a certain amount 
of labor, so that it can be redeemed at any time in labor,, 
or the equivalent in commodities. Again, the precious 
metals lose their weight by friction, and this is a loss with- 
out compensation.'’ 

“But, Isaac, did you not say that wheat could be used 
as a medium of exchange, and does not wheat cost labor ?” 
inquired Biddy 

“Yes," replied he, “but wheat, after being exchanged, 
can be used as an article of food, whereas the precious 
metals, as money, have no other quality besides their 
representative character. If I owe you a thousand 
bushels of wheat, I could give you certificates for that 
amount, redeemable at any time in the granaries of the 
nation. In the meantime, the wheat can be performing 
its functions of preserving life. But if I pay you a thou- 
sand dollars in gold or silver certificates, those metals 
cannot, in themselves, be used as articles of consump- 
tion." 

“I understand you thoroughly now," said the girl. “I 
see that the precious metals are expensive when used as 
money. But you forgot to explain to me the labor dollar." 

“As money represents labor," began Isaac, “let us call 
two hours’ work a dollar, and issue paper money of that 
character in small and large denominations. Those who 
hold those certificates can purchase that amount of labor, 
or they can exchange them for meat and clothes and other 
articles of consumption ; for the merchant, receiving these 
certificates, will be empowered to command the labor of 
others. If the government wishes to construct a railroad 
from Deboreh to Kidron, it could issue labor certificates, 
and pay the men employed in the construction of the road 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


117 


with these certificates, which would be accepted by any 
merchant for his wares.'" 

“But what would be the redemption of these certifi- 
cates ?” she interrupted. . 

“The road, as these certificates represent the labor and 
material in this road, and when the line is completed, the 
certificates could be redeemed in service."* 

“O, that is so simple, Isaac !’" remarked his charming 
pupil. “It is so strange that I could not grasp that idea 
at once."" 

Isaac smiled and said: 

“You see, my dear girl, you are as yet young, and you 
have not devoted your time exclusively to the study of 
economics, and I do not intend to flatter you when I say 
that your comprehension of my elucidations is remarkable. 
In a few months you will be able to direct me."’ 

“Thank you for the compliment, Isaac,” said Miss 
Einstein, “but do not allow me to interrupt your instruc- 
tions."" 

“We could buy the railroads of Toadia with labor dol- 
lars, and redeem them with work, and it would not be 
necessary to issue bonds. If the roads should cost three 
billion dollars, we could issue that amount in labor cer- 
tificates. These certificates would gradually pass back to 
the railroad in payment of services, and, in the course of a 
few years, the roads would be entirely free from debt. 

“This species of currency would destroy the necessity 
of paying interest, for the large industries of the nation 
could be purchased and conducted by the nation with labor 
money. Interest is usury, and should not be tolerated. If 
there were no money, interest would be impossible, for 
a person lending a hundred bushels of wheat would con- 
sider it a favor to have the same amount returned when 
needed, for the borrower would assume all responsibility 
of waste or loss, and the lender would be relieved of all 
anxiety and trouble in preserving the wheat. Now let us 
apply this to money, and we will see the injustice of in- 
terest. The wheat would not fructify and produce more 
wheat if held in the grainary of the lender, neither will 
money breed money in the safe of the banker.” 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


ll8 


“On what principle, then, did interest originate?” 
queried Biddy. 

“On the principle that a person with money,” replied 
Isaac, “can command labor, and as the value of labor is 
far above the price of labor, a large profit resuits from 
the transaction. Let us presume that I own a shoe fac- 
tory. I buy leather at a certain figure and I sell shoes at 
another figure. The labor expended on the leather in 
making it into shoes is the cause of the difference in the 
price of the leather and the price of the shoes. Let us 
presume that this difference is two dollars, and that the 
wear and tear of the machinery in making the shoes en- 
tails a loss of twenty-five cents. The difference of one 
dollar and seventy-five cents represent the value of the 
labor expended in making the shoes. But if the operative 
in the shoe factory should receive that value in full, there 
would be no inducement to the manufacturer to continue 
the business, since there would be no profits. But the 
means of production are monopolized, and laborers are 
willing to sell their services to those who own the estab- 
lishments. Labor becomes a commodity in the market, 
and is sold, not according to its value, but according to 
supply and demand. The price of labor is what it will 
bring in the market. The price of labor can never exceed 
or equal its value, for then it would be unprofitable to 
hire labor; but when there is large supply of labor, the 
price may fall far below its value. 

“The manufacturer hires an operative for a dollar per 
day. The difference between the price and the value of 
labor is the basis of profit, and it pays men to borrow 
money and give interest, in order to be enabled to com- 
mand these profits. If a laborer is hired for one dollar 
per day of ten hours, and he can earn that amount for his 
employer in five hours, then he gives five hours of labor 
free, and it is from this free labor that the employer makes 
his profits. Therefore, interest and profits exist on the 
exploitation of labor. Destroy the profit system, and no 
one will pay interest for the use of money.” 

“I understand that part, Isaac, but I wish to ask you 
one question. Did you not say that the precious metals 


BEYOND THE BI-ACK OCEAN 


1 19 

depreciate in value owing to the loss of weight from fric- 
tion?” 

“Yes, Miss Biddy.” 

“Well, then,” continued the young lady, “would not the 
product of labor, such as railroads, lose in wear ?” 

“This is very true,” responded the young editor, “but 
the loss in wear is being constantly replaced by the ser- 
vices the road renders. Gold and silver render service in 
facilitating exchange. Labor certificates render this ser- 
vice, and at the same time, the products represented by 
the certificates, such as buildings, factories, railroads, ren- 
der a distinct service.” 

“Isaac, that is so lucid that a child could comprehend 
it,” said his companion. “But I have one objection to pre- 
sent. Labor has different values, and how would you sur- 
mount that difficulty ?” 

“Very easily,” replied Isaac. “We would take com- 
mon labor as the basis of our system, and we could cal- 
culate the value of skilled and professional labor, by add- 
ing a certain percentage to manual labor as a compensa- 
tion for the necessary time and expense in acquiring 
superior knowledge. We will suppose that common labor 
is worth five dollars per day, and there are three hundred 
working days in the year. We will further presume that 
it requires two years to learn the printer’s trade, during 
which time the apprentice receives nothing for his labor. 
The common laborer has made three thousand dollars be- 
fore the printer obtains any compensation for his skill. 
Taking thirty years for the average life of a laborer, the 
printer should receive one hundred dollars per year, or 
ten per cent more wages than the unskilled laborer. 
Again, we might make all labor equal, and shorten the 
hours of the working day for the mechanic, and this would 
be sufficient compensation and inducement for young men 
to apply themselves to some trade.” 

“That is very plain, Isaac, and if you will answer one 
more objection, I will gladly surrender,” said the youth- 
ful student. 

“With pleasure. Miss Biddy. 1 like to meet objec- 
tions, for they bring out the beauties of the questions. 
What is the difficulty?” 


120 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


“As society advances, the powers of production will be 
enhanced, and a dollar redeemable with a certain quantity 
of labor will gradually have a greater purchasing power. 
Would not the same effect follow as when the demonetiza- 
tion of silver was accomplished, which augmented the 
purchasing power of gold ?” 

“By no means,” replied Isaac. “The case is entirely 
different. The augmentation of the purchasing power of 
gold had no effect on those people who did business on a 
cash basis, but only on the debtor and creditor class, 
whereas in the co-operative commonwealth, borrowing 
and lending would entirely cease, and there would be no 
debtor or creditor class. Again, the price of gold ad- 
vanced in value owing to its limited supply, and the gov- 
ernment’s passing a law in favor of the single standard, 
the possession of the yellow metal soon became a monoply 
in the hands of bankers and bond-holders. But labor, 
being unlimited in its supply, can never be monopolized, 
and since labor is essential to human existence, its supply 
will always equal the desires of human nature. The product 
of labor is the value of labor, and if a day’s labor will 
produce ten dollars of merchandise instead of five dollars, 
we say that labor has advanced in value.” 

“Yes, I see that,” said the thoughtful maiden, “but the 
difficulty is not yet solved to my satisfaction. Mr. Belder- 
heim has stock in the trusts of this country to the value of 
two hundred million dollars. Now the government pur- 
chasing his stock will pay him, and heirs, we will say, 
two milions annually for one hundred years. A century 
from now, two hours’ labor will produce as much as ten 
hours’ labor, with our means of production. Therefore, 
the heirs of Mr. Belderheim will receive five times the 
amount due to them in the enhanced efficiency of labor.” 

“Oh, now I see your objection!” exclaimed Isaac. 
“That can easily be remedied. The time of labor in a labor 
dollar will be regulated according to the hours in a work- 
ing day. The working day at present is about ten hours. 
When the waste from useless competition is eliminated by 
the government ownership of the great industries, the 
present working power, laboring five hours per day, will 
supply the nation with all luxuries. The working day be- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


i2l 

ing reduced orie-half, the time of labor in a labor dollar 
will be reduced to one hour. When the industries of the 
nation are throughly systemized, the working day will be 
reduced to two and one-half hours, and the time in a labor 
dollar will be reduced correspondingly. As labor will be 
employed only for the purpose of supplying the require- 
ments of the nation, the working day will be diminished 
with every advance in the efficiency of labor and the facil- 
ity of production ; and the time in a labor dollar will be 
likewise decreased.” 

“Isaac, that is so clear, but you must pardon me for 
imposing on your patience. Since we have been discussing 
this phase of the question, another difficulty presents 
itself. How can we transact business with foreign nations 
unless we adopt the precious metals as a money stand- 
ard ?” 

“If we keep in mind the function of money, the diffi- 
culty will vanish immediately. Money is a medium of 
exchange, and we seek money because we can exchange it 
for all those articles that satisfy human desires. Since our 
labor dollar will buy any commodity produced by the 
nation, foreign traders can exchange it for our products 
in the markets of the world, and also for the products of 
all other countries, as the merchants accepting our cur- 
rency can use it in making other purchases, and it will 
finally flow back into this government to be redeemed by 
labor.” 

Biddy smiled and said : 

“Isaac, my difficulties are ridiculous when I hear your 
lucid explanations. I shall now read again the back num- 
bers of ‘The Flaming Sword,’ where you have so ably 
treated the financial questions.” 

“And when I come again,” said Isaac, “I hope that you 
will engage my attention with the presentation of difficul- 
ties as you have done this evening. I cannot say that I 
have ever enjoyed more real pleasure in my life. It is so 
gratifying to observe the interest you take in the great 
problems of the age.” 

As it was now ten o’clock, the two young men bade 
good-night to their sweethearts and wended their way 
home. 


122 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


“Say, Gil,” said McGillicuddy, “do you know that 
Teddy Einstein is desperately in love with Lucile Gehthei- 
mer ?” 

“The daughter of that old hag we met at the levee ?” 
asked Isaac. 

“The very one,” said Abraham, “and the Einsteins are 
furious.” 

“Well, I sympathize with them. I would not have that 
old dame for a mother-in-law for all the gold in the world. 
Did Mary Ann tell you that this evening?” 

“Yes, while you and Biddy were discussing politics, 
Mary Ann and 1 were speaking of domestic affairs.” 

“Domestic affairs?” repeated Isaac. “Why you must 
be progressing very rapidly, since you are making prepar- 
ations for housekeeping.” 

“O, no ! it is not that far yet. However, there is a 
silent understanding between us that creates a mutual in- 
terest.” 

“We must have a conference with Teddy,” said Isaac, 
“and dissuade him from paying attention to Miss 
Gehtheimer. By Joe! it is possible that Ted may be a 
brother-in-law some day, and I would loathe to have him 
connected with that rude woman.” 

“Oh-ho ! So you are thinking of engaging new quar- 
ters? By Jingo! Gil, you are a sly coon!” 

And the two friends laughed heartily and entering the 
hotel, they retired to their rooms. 


CHAPTER XII. 

Ezachias Rosenberger and his son-in-law. Lord Uriah, 
who had arrived the evening before in a Danish ship, had 
finished their breakfast and retired to the library to enjoy 
the fumes of a cigar. The sun was sending his golden 
shafts through the costly windows, and filling the room 
with iridescent hues. The rich tapestry that decorated the 
walls, the artistic moulding of the ceiling, the superb fur- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


*23 

niture, the rare collection of books, the handsome Ori- 
ental rugs that covered the floor, were unmistakable in- 
dications of wealth. The morning papers contained an 
account of the insurrection which had broken out in 
Ammon. 

The two men took their hats and canes and went for a 
walk by the sea-shore. As they wandered along among 
the toilers on the streets, they could see hunger and dis- 
tress in their faces, but misery never appealed to the heart 
of Dives. They approached the strand, and they heard a 
group of idlers discussing the labor problem, and they 
stopped merely to hear the conversation, pretending that 
they were reading the papers, which they had taken with 
them. One of the men said that the condition of the wage- 
earners is growing worse every year. Another claimed 
that unless the government act quickly in suppressing 
the trusts, and in finding employment with fair compensa- 
tion for the toilers, a revolution would drench the nation 
with blood. A third commented on the last issue of “The 
Flaming Sword,” which ruthlessly excoriated Rosen- 
berger, the coal king. A fourth denounced the million- 
aire, and said that he was revelling in luxuries at the ex- 
pense of his half-paid employes. “His daughter is cutting 
quite a swath in Danish society, and the old fellow is 
sending her millions every year to keep her worthless hus- 
band out of debt. He is the most extravagant spendthrift 
in Dan, and when he married Miss Rosenberger he did 
not own one dollar. That cur has no respect for Toadian 
blood, and the Rosenbergers would sell their country’s 
honor for a Danish title. That is the class of people who 
are driving this country to destruction.” 

“Well,” put in a fifth speaker, “I think Gilhooley and 
McGillicuddy will bring the trouble to a crisis before long. 
The Flaming Sword’ invades every district, and every- 
where reform clubs are being organized. The laboring ele- 
ment heretofore has been working in vain. The unions did 
a great deal to keep up wages, but the time is fast coming 
when unions will be powerless. Machinery and the trusts 
combined will dispense with two-thirds of the labor now 
employed, and then the struggle for existence will be 
fierce, and the unions can do nothing to alleviate the dis- 


124 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


tresses of life. Suppose all the laborers in the nation were 
organized, and there were five or ten men for every posi- 
tion, what can they do? Compete with each other or 
starve.” 

“Why not lessen the hours of a work day ?” suggested 
one. 

“That would solve the difficulty if the employers would 
agree to adopt the measure. But if they will not yield, 
the laborers are at their mercy. Only the government can 
make these reforms, but the government is now con- 
trolled by the money power. ‘The Flaming Sword’ is 
forming a new party, known as Socialism, and when this 
party is strong enough to elect a President and Congress, 
the friends of labor, the friends of humanity, will have it 
in their power to pass laws which will guarantee to every 
man the product of his labor.” 

Ezachias Rosenberger and his son-in-law moved on a 
few hundred paces, and sat down on a bench and began 
to muse on the flowing tide that washed the sands of the 
beach. The bay was to the right, and the masts of the 
ocean steamers were pointing to the skies, and sails of many 
vessels were spread to the breeze. 

“On these shores,” said Rosenberger, “nay, on you 
mighty rock, our fathers landed two hundred years ago, 
and for five generations they humbly and gladly submit- 
ted to the gentle yoke of their mother country. Toadia 
became the home of the sturdy* sons of toil, and the daunt- 
less spirit of enterprise filled the forest glades and moun- 
tain dells. But bands of rebels fled from the old world, 
and, associating with the loyal children of Dan, cor- 
rupted the morals of the people, and completely changed 
their character. They would not be rulel by an alien 
power, they said. They would be represented in the royal 
government. They would have their rights. They would 
be independent ! O independence ! Is it independence 
for a son to rebel against the authority of his father, and 
burn the paternal roof, and murder his ancient sire ? And 
such was the independence of the revolutionists. 

“Yon distant hill recalls the crime of a nation when the 
first cannon of insurrection boomed on its summit. For 
years our fathers, goaded on by a horde of Ephraimites 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


125 


and other lawless tribes engaged in a matricidal war 
which resulted in the establishment of the Toadian Re- 
public. We hear much about the goddess of liberty. Yes, 
it is liberty to start riots, and burn houses, and slaughter 
innocent people in the streets ! Had the empire of Dan 
been perpetuated in this country, I, and others of my 
class, would be knighted lords and titled earls. We would 
be honored and obeyed by the plebeian herds, that now 
question our authority, and violate our mandates. The 
lazy varlets that are abusing us, and imprecating curses 
on the government, should be tied to the tail of a cart and 
whipped through the streets of Engeddi. 

“The common people are not allowed to talk that way 
in New Israel. The Danites always predicted that our 
Republic would prove a failure, and recent events show 
the wisdom of their prophecy. The idea that people are 
able to govern themselves ! Only educated, intelligent, 
wealthy people should be enfranchised. The Creator in- 
tended that one class should rule and the other obey. Why, 
these rebels even quote the doctrines of the Nazarene to 
su.\'tain their opinion. Those books of Christianity im- 
ported to this country by that band of Irish refugees, who 
should have been shot the day they landed, have done in- 
calculable harm. It is true that much can be construed to 
support our claims, such as the advice of Paul, telling 
servants to be obedient to their masters ; but yet there is 
much in Christianity that favors independence, for exam- 
ple, the teaching that all men are equal, inculcating the 
brotherhood of man ; and those accursed principles have 
nad a potent influence on the ignorant masses. The only 
.n salvation for our country is the royal scepter. 

“Regal power is begotten in Heaven, and it is the only 
divinely established government. All through our sacred 
books we read of kings, but not a word about presidents. 
Earth should be like unto Heaven, where the multitude 
stand in awe before the radiant throne. There was never 
but one strike in Heaven, and the strikers were at once 
cast out into exterior darkness. They were hurled like 
stones from the battlements of the royal city into liquid 
flames and their torments shall ascend forever and ever. 
The decisive step taken by the Omnipotent Ruler struck 


126 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


terror into the hearts of the rebellious spirits, and since 
that time not a murmur has ever marred the peace and 
bliss of the Eternal Kingdom. 

“But how can we establish an empire here on the foun- 
dation of a Republic ? There are no qualifications for citi- 
zenship except birth and naturalization, and the franchise 
is enjoyed by every citizen. However, we could bribe the 
electors, and by their co-operation have our choice pro- 
claimed President, and then we could bribe Congress 
and the Senate to crown him with the royal diadem. This 
could all be accomplished by a liberal expenditure, for 
we have succeeded in buying the services of State Legis- 
latures and the national government for years, and by the 
agency of legal enactments we have been enabled to mul- 
tiply our wealth until now we own the country. But I 
fear that any attempt to enthrone monarchy on the Altar 
of Liberty, as it is vainly and erroneously styled, would 
precipitate a civil war. Our present standing army is too 
insignificant to crush an insurrection, and we dare not 
increase it in time of peace. The canaille would clarnor 
against a mighty armed force unless required to defend 
the honor of the nation. Have they not already boldly 
asserted that it is one of the glories of a free government 
that it is not taxed like monarchial countries in support- 
ing idle men for the sake of guarding their safety against 
the influx of mailed legions? We have no colonies, and, 
therefore, we are not complicated by foreign alliances, 
and escape the embroglios of foreign governments. P 
would be perilous to magnify the army and navy withou 
necessity.’’ 

“Yes,” said Lord Uriah, who had been listening at- 
tentively to Rosenberger’s vagaries, “that is a difficult 
question to solve.” 

“But we can delude the rabble,” continued Rosenber- 
ger,” by pursuing a machiavelian policy. The Ammon- 
ites have rebelled against the supremacy of Reuben, and 
now we will subsidize the Press to inflame the populace 
with horrid details of the atrocities committed by the 
government of Tirzah in suppressing the aspirations of a 
liberty-loving nation. The voice of the multitude will de- 
mand Toadia to befriend the cause of the Ammonites, 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


127 


and this will embroil us with the mother country. Reuben 
is comparatively a weak country. She has only seventeen 
millions of subjects, whereas our population is more than 
quadruple that number. Our navy is more modern and 
better equipped, and a million of churls and bumpkins will 
offer their services on the field of battle. It will be a 
struggle for liberty, and of course the ignorant louts will 
expose their lives to the smoky cannon and polished steel 
for the honor that will deck the soldier’s brow. 

“We can afford to remain at home in our luxurious 
palaces, and write long communications to the press about 
the bravery of Toadian heroes, and the empire of free- 
dom, and the flight of the Eagle and the goddess of lib- 
erty, and thus inflame the nation with our platitudes and 
fustian. And while the warrior is bleeding on the field of 
carnage, and the nation is thrilled with victory, we can 
speculate in stocks and bonds, emphasize the necessity 
of the gold standard, as illustrated in our present crisis, 
double our wealth in a few months, and have ample leisure 
to mature our schemes for future conquest. 

“In the meantime we will incite the Heronites to imi- 
tate the example of the Ammonites, and that will bring 
the war to the Moabitic waters, and it will result in the 
extermination of Reubenic domination in the east and 
the annexation of the islands to the Toadian Republic. 
Then we will form an alliance with Dan, laud the mag- 
nanimity of our cousins beyond the Sea of Abraham, re- 
fer to our common language and common origin, and 
emphasize the fact that blood is thicker than water, dilate 
on the glory of expansion and the sublime mission im- 
posed on us by the God of nations to assimilate other peo- 
ples, and bear the blessings of civilization to the ends of 
the earth in the formation of a world-wide empire. Lib- 
erty, humanity and civilization, this shall be our motto, 
and millions will be duped by our intrigues, and enroll 
themselves under the banner of imperialism. 

“Under the plea of conquering the flag of Reuben, 
and driving the despot beyond the main, we can afford 
to increase our army to one hundred thousand. Later on 
we will augment it to two hundred thousand. Gradually 
we will curtail the liberties of the people, declare strikes 


128 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


illegal, reduce wages by legislative decrees and compel 
laborers to toil at the point of the bayonet. Then we can, 
during the next administration, bribe Congress to extend 
the term of office to a period of eight years, and formally 
declare the present incumbent duly authorized to exercise 
his functions as Chief Executive for four years more. Of 
course this is not constitutional, but the Press will explain 
it to the people that it is for the advancement of the na- 
tion, and the storm will soon blow over. At the end of 
the second term our movement will be advanced so far 
that we can proclaim the President of Toadia the Emperor 
of the West. 

'‘Then let the brood of vipers dare raise their voice 
against our authority! We will butcher them on the 
streets. We will chain them in gangs and make them toil 
under the stroke of the lash, or be shot down like mad 
dogs ! Ah, yes ! and my son may yet be the monarch of 
a broad empire, or my daughter may reign as a queen in 
the imperial mansion. Happy thoughts, Ezachias ! Thou 
art destined to walk through royal halls and pass through 
doors that roll on golden hinges !” 

Lord Uriah clapped the old man on the shoulder and 
said ; 

“Father, how would it read in the papers that all the 
royal houses of New Israel were represented at the coro- 
nation of Uriah, the first Emperor of Toadia?” 

“It would be music to my ears ! Let us go home and 
mature our plans.” 


CHAPTER XHI. 

The election took place in November, 1855, 
Protectionist party, with a gold standard platform, was 
placed in power. The war between Reuben and Ammon 
was waging fiercely, and the Herodites had augmented the 
difficulty of the mother country by declaring their inde- 
pendence, and taking the field in the assertion of their 


BEYOND THE BLACK. OCEAN 


129 


liberties. The Toadian press contained daily recitals of 
fiendish cruelties inflicted on the Ammonites by the offi- 
cers of the Reubenic army. The people were inflamed 
with passion. Speeches were made all over the country 
by lecturers and politicians, demanding the recognition 
of the Ammonite belligerency. Congress was petitioned 
by every religious denomination in the land to hearken 
to the cry of liberty that arose from the neighboring isle, 
and annihilate the power of the Reubenic nation. Danish 
statesmen urged the adoption of the measure, and Dan- 
ish journals pleaded with the Republic of the West to 
champion the cause of humanity and civilization. 

The Deboreh Herald, which represented the national 
sentiment, emphasized the fact that Dan and Toadia were 
the greatest powers on the globe. “We are destined to 
conquer the world. What is Reuben and the sister na- 
tions in the southern part of New Israel? Decayed and 
defunct. Ignorance and bigotry have marked them for 
destruction. They are passing away. Their fate is sealed, 
and the historian of the future will not weep over their 
tombs. They are like the lost empires of antiquity. Go 
back through the shadows that encircle the early ages, 
and what do you find ? Mighty kingdoms that seemed to 
be eternal in durability. Zaron had reached the zenith 
of glory, when the children of Israel were nomadic tribes. 
But where is Zaron now? Come forth, ye mighty lords 
of the east, and tell us whither has vanished your power. 
Come forth, ye potentates who built temples and shrines 
that have been the wonder of ages ; come forth, ye con- 
querors and chieftains of the Orient ; ye men who immor- 
talized the shores of the Tabor, and Ekron by erection of 
cities that rival the dreams of bards! Come forth, ye 
sages of Gath, ye warriors of Gerar, and tell us the his- 
tory of your fall, the story of your entombment. It was 
ignorance and bigotry. It was corruption and slavery. 

“Such a fate will inhume the once mighty name of 
Reuben beneath the debris of ages. She is destined to be 
swept away by the march of civilization, and the progres- 
sive nations of the earth will laugh at her destruction. 
The Danish speaking peoples have been selected by the 
wisdom of the eternal to conquer all nations, and convey 


130 


BEYOND THE BLACKOCEAN 


the blessings of humanity and civilization to those that 
are lingering in the chains of thraldom, to the benighted 
lands of the east and west^ north and south. The old 
enmity is forgotten. The mother welcomes her child 
again to the parental roof. Dan and Toadia are forever 
linked in friendship. We could not overcome the love 
begotten of a common origin. The wrongs of the past 
are amended, and like noble men our embrace reaches 
across the chasm of two generations with the affection of 
long-separated friends who have met again. Let Reuben 
be crushed. Let her flag be pulled down from the capital 
of Ammon. Let her navy be swept off the seas-. Let her 
empire be broken asunder, and let the people, who have 
long suffered under her yoke, cast away the gyves of 
bondage, and rejoice in their new-born liberty.” 

“The Flaming Sword” took part in the discussion of 
the question. On the second of March a lengthy article 
appeared in that able journal, and its publication created 
a profound sensation in the remotest villages of the Re- 
public. 

“Men are clamoring for war with Reuben, and I do 
not hesitate to denounce the spirit which actuates them as 
ungrateful and dastardly. A little more than half a cen- 
tury ago the cry of justice went up from the lips of twenty 
millions of oppressed people to the throne of mercy, and 
the God of freedom moved the hearts of our ancestors to 
strike the blow for national emancipation. Who was the 
cruel tyrant that pursued our yeomen with lance andi 
spear and battle ax ? Who was the despot who said you 
shall have no voice in legislative halls, and you shall be 
taxed to support the army and navy of a foreign land, an 
army that has lighted camp-fires in every valley, that has 
hunted the goddess of liberty from every shore; a navy 
that had swept the seas in search of plunder, and has 
crimsoned every wave with human gore? That despot 
was Dan. She invaded every right which nature and the 
God of nations had given to the colonics. 

“The little republics of the West had been formed by 
sturdy men who had been driven from the Old World 
by governmental oppression, and they came here to build 
the temple of liberty amidst the tall pine trees and stately 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


*3* 


oaks of the wild, unbroken wood. They had braved the 
dangers of the great primeval forests, filled with wild 
beasts and savage foemen. They cleared away the woods, 
built the cabin and the home, the hamlet and the town. 
They navigated the majestic streams, explored the vast 
regions, became familiar with all the hills and vales, and 
all the lakes and mountains of the western world. The 
commercial city rose in the wilderness, where a few years 
ago the roar of the lion and the shout of the huntsman 
were the only sounds that ever broke the wail of the 
woods or mingled with the voice of the streams. When 
the time came for reaping the benefits from the sweat and 
blood of the noble republicans of the West, the Danish 
king was not slow to utilize these advantages. The mother 
land imposed every burden on the colonies, and deprived 
them of every constitutional right, preparing to make 
this country the servile slave of despotism. In those days 
Simeon and Reuben were our friends, and by their as- 
sistance we won the battle of freedom and the goddess of 
liberty was enthroned in our national halls. 

‘‘Fifty years have rolled away, and the scene is totally 
changed. Reuben is now our enemy, Simeon is our sup- 
posed enemy, and Dan is our darling friend. Shades of 
the immortal heroes of the Revolution! arise from your 
peaceful slumbers, and denounce the cowardice, the ser- 
vility and the hypocrisy of our age and nation 1 The men 
of 1800 have passed away, leaving no progeny to uphold 
the honor of our flag. Reuben has acceded to all the de- 
mands of this government in alleviating the situation in 
Ammon. I am in favor of liberty, and I think every peo- 
ple should be entitled to free government, and I admire 
the expression of our people on behalf of the Ammonitic 
emancipation, but I condemn the sentiment that actuates 
those expressions. Is it sympathy for the enthralled sub- 
jects of Reuben ? If so, why not unfurl the banner of our 
nation in a war of universal emancipation, and sheathe 
not the sword till the Toadian eagles scream above the 
citadel of despotism, and the God of Democracy speaks to 
the enchained multitudes, calling on them to doff the liv- 
ery of servitude, and celebrate their victory in the temple 
of liberty ? 


*32 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


“The Ephraimites have been crushed by Danish lords, 
and hunted by Danish myrmidons for three hundred 
years. Their homes have been burnt, their fields laid 
waste, fathers have been massacred, sons have been as- 
sassinated, their religious convictions have been outraged, 
the sacred bond of matrimony has been ruthlessly broken, 
their altars have been consigned to the flames, their 
Rabbis have been pursued like wild beasts. They came 
to our land to enjoy the blessings of liberty, and they have 
fought for the honor of our flag from the day that the 
first cannon announced the conflict for independence, till 
the Eagle of the West chased the Lion of the East to his 
forest glades and mountain dells. 

“When the war of i8io was proclaimed, Ephraimitic 
soldiers enlisted in our army, Ephraimitic sailors came to 
our navy, and Ephraimitic generals led our legions to 
matchless triumphs. Again, in 1826, when the Confed^ 
eracy menaced the stability of the western empire, and 
the Union was tottering on its foundation, Ephraimitic 
blood was copiously shed for the cause of freedom and the 
durability of the Republic. Why not proclaim our alle- 
giance to the cause of Ephraimitic liberty and notify Dan 
to relinquish her claims upon that island within a speci- 
fied time ? Is it because Dan is a powerful nation that we 
can turn a deaf ear to the lamentations of Ephraim ? Did 
our ancestors ever suffer such torture in their captivity ? 
Did their wails on the rivers of Babylon ever awaken in 
the souls of their prophets more pathetic appeals, more 
desponding eloquence, than the miseries of Ephraim have 
stirred the spirit of her bards and orators ? Let us, there- 
fore, be just, and proclaim the independence, not only of 
Ammon, but, also, of Ephraim. But the money kings of 
the Republic are anxious for an alliance with the Danish 
throne, with the hope that the alliance may grow into a 
union and Toadia become a land of nobility.” 

A strange religious party had originated in Toadia a 
few years previously to the time of which we speak. This 
party was opposed to the old Hebrew cult, and it vowed 
to destroy it by the application of every means. The party 
was known as the Toadian Protective Association, and 
the members were called “T. P. A.*s.” Their object was 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


133 


to protect Toadian interests from the usurpation of the 
Hebrew religion, and they were to use the dagger when 
their purpose could not be accomplished by milder means. 
The party was solicitous about the war for two reasons. 
The Hebrew altar was still venerated in Reuben, and the 
old religion was the only form of worship that existed in 
the kingdom. Again, the T. P. A.’s thought that the 
Ephraimites, who were staunch adherents of the ancient 
creed, would betray their country from religious motives, 
and thus furnish the government with ample evidence of 
the pernicious results of Hebrew teaching, and the perils 
of tolerating that worship in Toadia. 

While the press was inflaming the people with glaring 
accounts of Reubenic atrocities, the ignoble character of 
the Reubenites, their cowardice and cruelty, their thirst 
for blood, their insensibility to the suffering of their col- 
onists, filibustering expeditions were daily arranged and 
executed with the connivance of the Federal Government. 
Insincere attempts were made to prevent these unfriendly 
manifestations to the Reuben government in Ammon ; but 
the whole world knew that the authorities were cognizant 
of every movement in that direction. 

At the solicitation of the people, and the pleading of 
the press calling on Congress to protect the lives of Toa- 
dian citizens, who were in the greatest peril from Reu- 
benic hostility, the battleship Tyre was ordered to Am- 
monitic waters. On the thirty-first of May the an- 
nouncement ran over the wires to every part of the coun- 
try that the Tyre had been destroyed. Citizens of all 
classes armed themselves and cried for the blood of every 
living Reubenite. A committee was sent to investigate 
the cause of the disaster, and they reported that it was a 
mystery that could not be solved. The deputation con- 
sisted of Solomon Levi, David Loveheart and Jacob 
Jonas. These gentlemen were besieged on their return 
from Ammon, but they were unanimous in maintaining 
that the cause of the explosion could not be ascertained, 
and if it were the work of a premeditated plot, the agent 
of the dastardly deed would never be known. 

But the press maintained that it was a Reubenic con- 
spiracy, and the people called for vengeance. Congress 


134 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


acted unanimously, and war was proclaimed. As Toadia 
had four times the army and navy, and fifty times the re- 
sources of Reuben, the struggle ended in less than three 
months, with the establishment of a provisional govern- 
ment in Ammon, and the promise of independence at some 
future time, when the people were far enough advanced 
in civilization to be entrusted with the exercise of author- 
ity. In the conflict between the two powers, the Toadian 
fleet in the Moabitic seas attacked and totally demolished 
the Reubenic fleet on the shores of Heron, and, with the 
assistance of the natives, the Reubenic forces on the land 
were conquered. 

The Heronites looked upon the Eagles as the emblem 
of freedom, and they thought when that flag was erected 
on the battlements of their cities, that foreign domination 
was forever ended. But they found that they had only 
exchanged masters, and that the new power that was en- 
throned on the land was far more cruel and despotic than 
the ancient regime. 

The dual conspiracy formed in the fertile brains of 
Lord Aran and Ezechias Rosenberger had been success- 
fully executed, and the fiends behind the curtain were 
dreaming of the empire that would rise on the altar of 
freedom’s temple, above the altar of Democracy. The 
blood of heroes on the battlefield, the wail of mothers 
weeping over the death of their sons, the cry of orphans 
expressing their grief for the loss of fathers, went on un- 
heard by the lord and his minion. The Hebrews fought 
bravely for Ammonitic independence, and their valor 
won the admiration of all fair-minded Toadians, while the 
T. P. A.’s shrank into obscurity, and pined away in their 
chagrin that the machinations they had matured for the 
destruction of the ancient creed, had proved a fiasco. 


CHAPTER XIV. 

About the middle of February, 1857, a tall, handsome 
Ifentlcman of aristocratic appearance, stepped into the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


135 


Theban Hotel, and registered as Lord Jesse, from the 
Kingdom of Dan. His appearance at once attracted the 
attention of the guests, and his identity was soon estab- 
lished. After he was assigned to his room, he presented 
his card, and asked to see Mr. Gilhooley and Mr. McGilli- 
cuddy. The two gentlemen had just finished supper, and 
were preparing to return to their office, when they were 
informed that Lord Jesse wished to see them. On enter- 
ing the parlor, they found the nobleman waiting, who im- 
mediately advanced, and said : 

'T hope I have the distinguished honor of meeting the 
editors of ‘The Flaming Sword ?’ ” 

The compliment was reciprocated by the journalists, 
and soon the gentlemen were engaged in the discussion of 
current topics. 

“I heard of you and your admirable paper,’’ said the 
lord, “when I arrived in Engeddi a few weeks ago. You 
seem to be transforming the nation. I am in sympathy 
with the movement. While yet a boy, I became familiar 
with the conditions of the laboring people in the Danish 
coal mines, and I have spent much money in attempting 
to introduce these reforms in our kingdom. But I met 
with intense opposition, not only from the aristocracy and 
wealthy class at large, but even my own people have re- 
nounced me. However, I have my fortune secured, and 
I am independent of the world, and I came to this country 
with the hope of promoting the cause of humanity ; for I 
believe that this broad Republic, where every man has the 
right to vote, and where the gift of liberty is jealousy 
guarded, is a vast field to prosecute the good work.” 

“Lord Jesse,” said Gilhooley, “it is really gratifying to 
hear the expression of such noble sentiments, especially in 
a man of your birth and prestige. I readily appreciate the 
sacrifices you are making in behalf of freedom. In the first 
place, you were born and educated under the influence of 
monarchial institutions; and being a member of the 
Danish nobility, you were compelled, at the very dawn of 
your reform career, to turn your back on the parental 
home, renounce the pleasures that dwell in the castle, 
forego the influence of your home, and trample on the 
hallowed traditions of your family and the time-honored 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


136 

customs of your country. We welcome you to our shores, 
and we glady initiate you in the Socialism of the Toadian 
Republic.” 

“And I, too,” said McGillicuddy, “congratulate you, 
and welcome you to the ranks of the new party. I know 
that your efforts will contribute marvelously to the en- 
thronement of human liberty, which has been crushed in 
our land by money kings and their sympathizers. You 
have the royalty of blood, and we have the royalty of gold ; 
and the latter exercises all the despotism of the former 
without any of its redeeming features. We speak of free- 
dom, but the only freedom now enjoyed by the masses of 
the country is the freedom to curse, and they will soon be 
deprived of that. 

“There is a movement in progress here to subvert re- 
publican institutions, and establish an empire. The recent 
war with Reuben was waged for that purpose, and the 
people are beginning to discern what has actuated the 
government in its participation in the struggle of the 
Ammonite insurgents. The measure was adopted for the 
purpose of augmenting the standing army and expanding 
our dominions, and when this is accomplished the soldiers 
now crimsoning the vales of Heron with the blood of free- 
men seeking independence, will be marshalled against the 
natives of this land, and the establishment of an empire will 
be the crowning coup d’ etat of this pharisaical parade of 
patriotism, and the presumptuous claim that our nation 
is destined, by the fiat of high heaven, to encircle the globe, 
and erect the altar of liberty in every land.” 

“Why, do you think they would imperil their lives by 
such temerity?” asked Lord Jesse. 

“Imperil their lives ? What can a conquered people do 
when they are confronted by cannon and bayonet ? There 
are not a braver people on earth to-day than the Ephraim- 
ites, and yet they are held in subjection by the soldiery of 
the Danish empire.” 

“To give you an illustration,” remarked Isaac, “of how 
liberty is ignored by this government, I will cite a few 
facts. Several months ago there was a strike on the Jor- 
dan Valley Railroad, and the chief executive of the Broth- 
erhood of Engineers ordered the engineers on the eight 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


137 


connecting lines to assist the Jordan Valley strikers; and 
the result was that instant action was taken to give up 
work on all the lines, if the Jordan Valley freight were 
handled. The object of this movement was to force those 
lines to reject Jordan Valley freight, and compel that road 
to come to an agreement with the engineers. There was 
no malice, no violence, no fraud. The matter was brought 
before the Supreme Court of Toadia, the eight connecting 
lines claiming that the action of the engineers was a viola- 
tion of the inter-state commerce law ; and while the court 
decided that the men had a right to quit when they wished, 
‘l3ut so long as the employe remains in his employment, 
the law can compel him to do his whole duty ; a part of 
his duty, when employed on an inter-state line, is to grant 
equal facilities to connecting lines.' By promulgating the 
order to quit, the chief executive of the Brotherhood of 
Engineers and the men are guilty of ‘a conspiracy to pro- 
cure the officials of the connecting lines to violate the act. 
Again they are civilly liably to the Jordan Valley for the 
conspiracy.' 

“I will give you a couple of other decisions of the Su- 
preme Court. The State against Mulcahy decided that for 
men to combine and notify the employer that they will quit 
unless certain fellow-workmen are discharged, is indicta- 
ble conspiracy. The same decision was rendered in the 
case of Levi versus Reinan." 

“You really astonish me with these citations, Mr. Gil- 
hooley," said Lord Jesse. “I knew that there was a spirit 
of antagonism against the usurpation of capital, and this 
was retaliated by the adoption of drastic measures, but I 
did not deem that the highest tribunal in the land would 
tarnish its character for honesty by such unjust decisions." 

“The highest tribunal as well as the lowest," inter- 
posed Abraham, “can be bribed, and that is ample evidence 
of our political deterioration." 

“The same conditions existed in Rome, according to 
the literature that has been preserved of that fallen em- 
pire," said Lord Jesse. “But a few good men like you and 
Mr. Gilhooley will purify the nation." 

“We hope. Lord Jesse," said Isaac, “that you will give 
some assistance to The Flaming Sword,' and by our 


138 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


united power, its point will pierce the heart of every tyrant 
and every renegade from ocean to ocean.” 

“With your permission,” replied Lord Jesse, “I shall 
be a frequent contributor to its columns.” 

“We offer you carte-blanche, and hope that you will 
utilize the privilege,” said the editors, in unison, and Lord 
Jesse bade them good-evening, with the promise of un- 
failing fidelity to the cause of justice and truth. 

The next morning the leading papers devoted more 
than a column to the arrival and history of the Danish 
nobleman. His genealogy was traced back more than 
seven hundred years, and his coat-of-arms was engraved 
and minutely described by the able journalists. Many dis- 
tinguished people paid a visit to the hotel, and presented 
theircardsto Lord Jesse, who received them most cordially, 
and gracefully responded to the invitations which they 
extended. Levees and soirees, banquets and entertain- 
ments, receptions and theatricals, were honored with his 
presence, and the bon-ton society of Deboreh spent every 
effort to gain the esteem of the distinguished visitant. 

One evening he was entertained at the Jordan Club, 
and the fashionable people of the city were in attendance. 
Mrs. Gehtheimer, as usual, forced herself to the front, and 
received an invitation to be present on the occasion. 
Lucile was with her mother, and the old dame thought that 
her hour had come when the scion of her house would be 
honored with a noble title. She never dreamed, for a mo- 
ment, that the grandest character on the globe could refuse 
to lend his name to her family in exchange for her millions 
of glittering gold. The nation had become so corrupt, 
that the publication of this woman’s reputation did not 
exclude her from the elite of society. The Gehtheimers 
were introduced to Lord Jesse, and immediately the matron 
engaged the Danite in conversation, and monopolized his 
time the remainder of the evening. 

“My lord, I am pleased to meet you,” said the virago. 
“I have met so many of your people, and I think they are 
simply grand. They are so courteous and refined. Of 
course, nobility begets polished manner.” 

“Madam, I thank you for the compliment.” 

“But, my lord, there is something about your associa- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


iy) 


tions that I do not comprehend; and, as you are a 
stranger in the city, and, undoubtedly beguiled by false 
appearances, I thought that I would speak to you on this 
question this evening.” 

“Why, certainly, madam. If I have been consorting 
with disreputable people, I am sorry, and, in extenuation 
of any offense I may have given to the fashionable society 
of Deboreh, which I so highly esteem, ignorance of wrong- 
doing is my apology.” 

“Perhaps I have been misinformed,' began the lady, 
“but I have heard that you are the boon companion of 
those two notorious anarchists who publish ‘The Flaming 
Sword.' '' 

“Ah ! you intend to call Mr. Gilhooley and Mr. McGilli- 
cuddy anarchists ? I beg to differ with you. They have 
violated no law, and they do not instigate the populace to 
violence, but on the contrary, they advise the adoption of 
constitutional methods in this warfare.” 

“That may be very true, but they are opposed to the 
existing government, and they propose to abolish the 
entire system by the introduction of Socialism.” 

“But what do you understand by Socialism?” asked 
Lord Jesse, who was highly amused. 

“Why the total annihilation of private property, the 
division of wealth among the beggars and tramps.” 

“‘The Flaming Sword,' madam, does not advocate 
the division of wealth, but merely the government owner- 
ship of the means of production and distribution, and they 
propose to compensate the proprietors for their property. 
If I mistake not, they confine their demands to the na- 
tional ownership of land and railways, telegraph and tele- 
phone lines. At least, I have not read of any other inno- 
vations in the columns of their paper.” 

“Do you think that would be just?” 

“Nothing could be more just. I am a land-owner, and 
I would be willing to relinquish my claims to-morrow, for 
I recognize that every man has a right to the use of land. 
Besides, in my native country, I have seen the deleterious 
results of land ownership. The few are living in luxury, 
and the masses are toiling slaves, giving the fruit of their 


140 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


labor to those who have monopolized the treasures of na- 
ture by fencing in the common inheritance.” 

“I see, my lord, that you are mesmerized by those 
magicians. It seems that they have the power, not only to 
enchant the feminine gender, but extend their conquest to 
the noblest of the masculine sex.” 

“I thank you, madam, for the compliment. I hope that 
I am worthy of it.” 

During the evening Mrs. Reisan managed to have sev- 
eral brief conversations with the Danish aristocrat, and 
she declared that he was “the handsomest, the most re- 
fined, the most cultured, and the most fascinating gentle- 
man” whom she had ever met. Lord Jesse’s visit to De- 
boreh was the social triumph of the year. Costly bouquets 
were sent to him every day by the fair damsels and the 
stately matrons. 

The following week he was entertained at the Gehthei- 
mer mansion, and at the beginning of the next month, the 
courtly manners of the foreigner graced the palatial home 
of Mrs. Reisan. Mrs. Gehtheimer was again present, with 
her daughter Lucile, who was decked in the richest of 
robes. But the nobleman seemed to pay more attention to 
the hostess of the evening than the bevy of maidens who 
came to admire his handsome visage and princely mein, 
and to win from him a smile of satisfaction or a word of 
encouragement. Mrs. Reisan was young and gay, and 
her beauty was unrivaled in the city of Deboreh. Her 
husband was a multi-millionaire, fifteen years the senior 
of his wife, and devoid of those charms that attract the 
admiration of the fair sex. 

The marked attention of Mrs. Reisan to her guest, and 
the compliments that he bestowed upon the beautiful lady, 
called for many severe criticisms. From that time. Lord 
Jesse was a constant visitor at the Reisan mansion, and 
was frequently seen on the boulevard in the family car- 
riage with the mistress of the house. But Mrs. Reisan 
was not the only married lady in Deboreh who took the 
liberty of accompanying Lord Jesse on a drive. The 
maidens and matrons vied with each other in wooing 
the favors of the Danite; and not only did they call to 
see him at the parlors of the hotel, but they invited him 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN I4I 

to private luncheons, and committed many other indis- 
cretions worthy of public censure. Horses, cats and dogs 
were christened “Lord Jesse,” the latest style of hats was 
distinguished with that title, and the papers were filled 
wiht amatory verses in honor of the aristocrat, who had 
deigned to visit the metropolis of Toadia. 

A very strong attachment was engendered between 
Lord Jesse and the editors of “The Flaming Sword,” to 
the surprise of the public, and to the sorrow and disap- 
pointment of a certain class of the elite, who hated Gil- 
hooley and McGillicuddy with the malice of fiends. The 
Einsteins were still ardent defenders of “The Flaming 
Sword” and its management, and a deep and lasting love 
had been formed between the two young ladies and the 
two reformers. But a contemplated alliance of Teddy 
Einstein with Lucile Gehtheimer had estranged him from 
his family, who loathed the very name of that disreputable 
woman. Teddy had been told of Mrs. Gehtheimer’s 
youthful career, but he was passionately fond of Lucile, 
and his love for the daughter was greater than his con- 
tempt for the mother. 

Since the arrival of Lord Jesse, the attentions of Teddy 
were discouraged by Lucile’s mother, who dreamed of 
the possibility of an alliance with the heir of a noble fam- 
ily, and though the Einsteins were among the most dis- 
tinguished people of Deboreh, yet they had no titles. 
Lucile admired, but did not love Lord Jesse, but her 
mother said that she should sacrifice her affections to her 
ambition, and relinquish the pleasures of congeniality for 
the honors of aristocracy. Isaac and Abraham were deeply 
interested in the nuptial anticipations of Teddy Einstein, 
and endeavored to break the bonds which that young lady 
had drawn around his heart. But the chain was made of 
adamantine links, and their efforts were not only futile, 
but resulted in the growth of enmity between the whilom 
friends. Mrs. Gehtheimer fanned the flame that had been 
ignited, for she had no love for “The Flaming Sword,” 
and she longed to see its editors behind the dungeon 
gate. 


142 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


CHAPTER XV. 

Directly south of New Israel, there is a continent which 
was named Arabia, after the geographical position of that 
country in relation to Palestine. The sea separating this 
region from New Israel was known as the Tranquil Sea, 
for destructive storms never swept its bosom, and the 
waters were as placid as the surface of a lake. Arabia was 
inhabited by many turbulent tribes, which incessantly 
waged intestine feuds. The Caucasion race found no in- 
ducements to penetrate the wilds of this savage land, and 
for centuries civilization was a stranger to its soil. The 
peasants of Asher established a colony in that remote part 
of the world, and by their unremitting efforts, a garden was 
planted in the wilderness. - The Danish empire laid claims 
to the neighboring regions. But finding it more congenial 
to the tastes of her people to confiscate the cultivated lands 
of the Asherites, than to battle with the laws of nature in 
rescuing swamps from the floods of summer, and transmu- 
ting the forests into meadows and orange groves, she 
notified the pioneers to vacate their land and seek new 
homes in the unfrequented wilds. The original colonists 
moved onward toward the north, and occupied a desert 
tract surrounded on all sides by warlike nations. They 
were compelled to fight these untutored races, and guard 
their wives and little babes that gladdened their hearths, 
from the perfidious Arabians who lurked in every wood 
and mountain dell. Years were passed on the frontier of 
civilization, and many a noble Asherite fell beneath the 
deadly blade of the assassin, before the pioneers had se- 
cured a safe asylum in that distant part of the world. Their 
ceaseless toil at last created an oasis in the wilderness and 
then the jealous Danites notified them to migrate again. 

Their homes and the graves of their sires were dese- 
crated by mailed hosts, who were sent to execute the or- 
ders of the Danish government. Onward they marched, 
leaving their cabins in the valley and on the hilltop, which 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


143 


were covered with the wealth of vegetation, and the de- 
fenseless peasants began to struggle with new difficulties. 
They were forced to confront the savage foe in his strong- 
hold, and consecrate the new settlement with the blood of 
their best and noblest men. But the task was accom- 
plished, and the formation of a little republic showed that 
liberty had triumphed over despotism, and civilization had 
conquered the savage hordes. 

The peasants now, by long separation from their native 
land, had assumed a distinct nationality known as Jonites, 
and their country was called Jonas, after the prophet of 
Israel, who was commanded by the voice of Jehovah to 
preach repentance to the wicked men of Nineveh. Less 
than three decades had rolled away from the establishment 
of the Jonitic government, when diamonds and gold fields 
were discovered, and the small republic became the most 
prosperous country in the world. The wealth of the land 
was fabulous, and the cupidity of Dan could not rest, while 
another people had such precious treasures. A wave of 
migration swept into Jonas from the Danish empire, and 
in a short time the natives were in the minority. They 
readily discerned the significance of this movement, and 
anticipated the scheme by passing laws of naturalization, 
requiring the foreigners to live fourteen years in the Re- 
public, before they could become citizens and be admitted 
to the franchise. The Danites thought that by their vasi 
number they would be enabled to control the legislature 
and within a very brief period, the government would be 
attached to the Arabian dominion of Dan ; and they were 
furious wh^ the Jonites foiled their plans by passing a 
bill of qualification for voters, and they demanded that the 
bill be modified immediately. 

The Jonites were not fully prepared to fight for the 
maintenance of their autonomy, and they made some tem- 
porary modifications. The conflict, however, was brew- 
ing, and the Jonites were supplying themselves with re- 
sources, and drilling their little army to meet the inevita- 
ble. The Danites were not satisfied with the concessions 
that had been made, and demanded that seven years be 
specified as the period of residence required in voters. 
After many protestations, the Jonites also yielded to this 


144 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


demand. Again the tyrant requested that the period be 
reduced to five years, and the natives, seeing that their 
country was menaced the fourth time by the wily usurper, 
refused to comply, and appealed to the justice of their 
cause. But justice was out of the question, when dealing 
with inferior forces. 

The Toadian Republic was still persecuting the god- 
dess of liberty in Heron, and under the name of humanity 
and civilization, was waging the most atrocious, the most 
brutal, warfare that had disgraced any country within the 
millennium; and it did not surprise the natives of the 
transarctic world that the “Land of the Free” should sanc- 
tion and encourage the invasion of Jonas under the same 
hypocritical plea that had been advanced to justify Toadian 
usurpation in the Moabitic Ocean. The leaders of the Pro- 
tectionists were constantly lauding Danish civilization, 
and the necessity of exercising suzerainty over the South 
Arabian Republic. ‘ 

“We are a great Danish-speaking people, and God has 
called us to preach His word to the ends of the earth, and 
if wc should be recreant to our vocation, unborn genera- 
tions will curse our memory, and the Almighty Ruler will 
exact a rigid account of the gifts He has bestowed on us 
for the accomplishment of our great and noble mission.” 
This was the language of press, pulpit and rostrum, to the 
nauseation of honest people, and the amusement of the 
hired hypocrites themselves. It was dangerous to speak 
in disparaging terms of Danish integrity, and it was nec- 
essary to extol Danish honor to gain any favors from the 
Federal government. Every Protectionist in the land 
claimed to have Danish blood in his veins ; and if he were 
a native of that country, there was no office at the disposal 
of the party that was beyond his reach. In fact, it became 
disreputable in fashionable society not to have a coat-of- 
arms, certifying to Danish ancestry, and among the par- 
venues and ambitious canaille, the sentiment became so 
strong (for such people are always directed by the higher 
classes and excel them in extravagance) it was flagitious 
to speak in complimentary language of the Toadian Re- 
public. 

Gilhooley had delivered a speech on the Reubenic- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


145 


Toadian conflict, and he characterized it as the most un- 
justifiable war in history. “ Reuben, he said, ‘‘acquiesced 
to all our protestations, yielded to all our expostulations, 
complied with all our injunctions, but still we were not 
satisfied. We wanted battle, but we were very careful to 
imitate our Danish cousins in selecting a weak nation, on 
which to show our prowess. I do not hesitate to denounce 
my country for the blackest ingratitude on the page of 
history. If we were sincere in our affection for the Am- 
monites, we would have requested the nations to present 
a unanimous protest against the Reubenic domination in 
that land, and the court of Tirzah would have been neces- 
sitated to comply with this universal remonstrance. But 
no, we wanted war. If we were honest in our declaration 
of sympathy for an enslaved people, why do we withhold 
autonomy from Ammon? Why do we set up a military 
government in that island? Why do we allow every 
Toadian cut-throat and adventurer to suck the life-blood 
of that people ? Why do we close our ears to their com- 
plaints and hold that such treatment is necessary for them ? 

“Of course we render all these stripes, we inflict all 
these injustices, we perpetrate all these robberies, in the 
name of humanity and civilization. It is not a matter of 
wonder that such an administration should lend its sym- 
pathy to Danish despots, and applaud the usurpations and 
atrocities of that government. A few days ago Senator 
Sodoc declared that we alone, the Danish-speaking peo- 
ple, have a right to existence, and we should conquer the 
earth and build a fence around it. O, ye immortal men 
of the past ; ye warriors that carried the banner of victory 
from the vale of Hur to the battlements of Gilead^ ye 
pioneers who fought the beasts of the forests and savage 
hordes from the wilderness, come forth from your sombre 
tombs! awake ye silent shades from the moss-covered 
stones; arise ye noble spirits from your grand mauso- 
leums, and purify the nation with your philanthropic in- 
spiration, with your lofty sentiments of love and patriot- 
ism.'' 

At a meeting of Protectionists in the city of Deboreh 
just previously to the Reubenic-Toadian embroglio, “The 
Flaming Sword" was severely criticised for its opposition 


146 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


to the policy of the government, and the editors were de- 
nounced for their treasonable utterances in the rostrum. 

Mr. Benjamin said that “These two Irish-Israelites 
magnify the debt of gratitude we owe to Reuben. We 
owe a debt of gratitude to no nation on earth except our 
dear old mother country, that rocked us in the cradle of 
infancy, and guarded our childhood days ; and we have 
been ungrateful in renouncing her maternal claims on our 
affections. To-day the Lion should rule the empire of 
the West. If the severance had not been accomplished 
by theTebels, who unfurled the banner of the Eagles, we 
should now be lords and earls and dukes, and the vile 
proletariat would be fawning at our knees, crying at our 
feet, bowing to the passing of our shadow on the street, 
instead of presuming to dictate our national policy, and 
to subvert the existing government. Even if Reuben had 
sustained us in our struggle, is that any reason why we 
should not castigate her for her heinous crimes, for unpar- 
donable offenses? Gilhooley said that ingratitude is the 
vice of slaves ; and I want to tell that young fanatic that 
gratitude is the virtue of dogs.” 

The sentiment expressed by Mr. Benjamin was the 
sentiment of the money kings of Toadia, with a few noble 
exceptions. The country in general, however, still pre- 
served the sacred traditions of liberty bequeathed as a 
legacy by the fathers of the Republic, and there were ex- 
pressions of sympathy for the Jonites from every part of 
the land. Men declared their convictions in public meet- 
ings, and armed bodies of cavaliers offered their aid to the 
President of the South Arabian Republic. The Ephraim- 
ites were unanimous in their expression of fidelity to the 
principles of liberty, and made powerful efforts to collect 
arms and ammunition for the Jonitic cause. 


CHAPTER XVL 

On the 21 St of October, 1857, the following communi- 
cation appeared in “The Flaming Sword:” 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


147 


“To-day we have, in this country, seven hundred thou- 
sand people out of work, eight hundred thousand paupers, 
and twenty millions poor. In the census of last year there 
were one million, one hundred thousand living in tele- 
ment houses in Deboreh, whose population is only one 
million, five hundred thousand. Eighty per cent of the 
farmers in the country are in debt, and in less than five 
years they will lose their homes, and join the army of toil- 
ers and vagrants. In Dan the disparity between the 
classes is even greater. More than half the national 
wealth belongs to ten thousand people, and thirty thou- 
sand men own fifty-five-fifty-sixths of all the land and 
capital in the kingdom. The average wage for the upper 
and middle classes is one thousand dollars per annum, 
whereas laborers receive but eighty-five dollars per an- 
num, or twenty-five cents per day. 

“In the early history of our race, each man worked 
for himself, and received the fruit of his industry. But 
even in that remote age of time, there were always men 
who desired to live on the labor of their fellow-beings, 
and hence originated wars for the spoliation of wealth. 
Land was then abundant and this prevented the possibil- 
ity of land monopoly, and the stronger nations enslaved 
the weaker, and exacted their toil as a price for their 
lives. Captives taken in war were doomed to thraldom, 
and served their masters under the stroke of the lash. In 
the flight of ages, when the human race had multiplied*, 
the land passed into the hands of private individuals, and 
those were able to exact the labor of their less fortunate 
brethren as a compensation for their existence on the soil. 
The landlord took a large portion of the wealth created 
by his bondsmen or serfs, as a tribute for the liberty of 
cultivating the soil. 

“When the race had increased and land became scarce, 
serfdom passed out of existence, and the bondsmen now 
became renters. Competition raised the rent of l^nd with 
every generation, till now the entire produce, with a small 
allowance essential for the maintenance of the laborer, is 
absorbed by the owners of the earth. Rent in Dan is one 
hundred and twenty times greater than it was five hun- 
dred years ago. In Asher, Zabolon, Simeon and Neph- 


148 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


thali, rent has doubled in the last quarter of a century. 
To-day the annual rent of land in the city of Deboreh, is 
two hundred million dollars ; in Kidron, it is seventy-five 
millions ; in Engeddi, forty millions ; in Susanna, twenty- 
seven millions, and in the other cities it ranges from ten 
to twenty-five millions. Just to think that men must pay 
such exorbitant prices for the privilege of standing on 
the soil which God has created for their use ! 

“But the landlords are not the only class of people who 
live on the labor of their fellow-men. The small trades- 
men of three or four centuries ago owned his tools, and, 
by hard labor, could make an independent living. But 
those days are forever past. The age of invention has 
arrived, and another class of people has entered the field 
of industry. Mechanical skill has supplanted the simple 
tools of the artisan, and the capitalist has purchased ma- 
chinery and established vast industries, and the manual 
laborer, not having the means to compete with the cap- 
italist, has been driven from the field, and forced to seek 
employment in the busy factories. The laborer does not 
own the means of production, but must sell his labor to 
the capitalist, and therefore he is the slave of the capital- 
ist. This is what competition has accomplished. It has 
enthralled the wealth producers of the world. 

“We boast of the freedom of contract! Freedom, 
indeed, when a man must work for a crust of bread or 
starve ! When necessity urges a man to sell his labor for 
one-half or one-third its real value, that man is the veriest 
slave. Competition means bondage, and we are the vilest 
slaves that ever trod the earth. The employe is afraid to 
look up when the foreman’s eyes are upon him, for he 
fears that taking the liberty to look upon the glittering 
sun and the purple dome, will be punished by dismissal 
from service. There is no lash above him. Yet the shadow 
of the wolf haunts the door of his cabin, his wife and 
babes are hungry and naked, and if he is discharged, they 
will fall by the wayside, and death will close their eyelids 
in the sleep that knows no waking. That man is more 
of a slave than the Cushite who was hunted by the blood- 
hounds on the southern plantations. The slave received 
food and clothing and care in the hour of sickness, for 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


149 


the preservation of his life and health was an advantage 
to the master. But the poor laborer works from the grey 
dawn, when the auroral blush of the infant day encircles 
the brow of the morning, until Apollo’s golden beams are 
lost in the liquid depths of the western main, and the 
dusky shades of eve creep along the vale and climb the 
mountain peak ; and yet what is his wages ? A crust of 
bread and rags. When he falls a victim to the loathsome 
disease that lurks in the stifled, poisoned atmosphere of 
his workship, there is no master to provide for his fam- 
ily. He dies and is forgotten ; his wife and babes follow in 
his wake, and the car of Mammon moves over the graves 
of its victims, while the enthroned monarch, reclining on 
his cushioned seat, and holding the reins in his hands, 
never reflects on the truth that the rotting flesh and de- 
caying bones that sleep beneath the green sward on the 
wayside, once toiled and bled to make the spokes and 
hubs and tires of his carriage. 

‘‘Competition has begotten servility. Not only has lib- 
erty fled from the soul of the laborer in the ditch and the 
mill and the factory, but the venal spirit of the slave in- 
spires every act in the history of our age. The book- 
keeper and the salesman, the physician and the lawyer, 
the merchant and the banker, are bondsmen of the veriest 
stamp. Every one is anxious to keep his position, his 
clientage, his practice, his trade, his patronage, and he 
smothers every noble sentiment, stifles every whisper of 
conscience, submits to insults, tramples on truth, mocks 
justice, despises honor, laughs at love and scorns friend- 
ship in his efforts to conquer his competitors, and triumph 
in the wild scramble for existence. 

“Competition means the survival of the unfittest, for 
only the wily, the cunning, the dishonest, the deceitful, 
the untruthful, the unscrupulous, succeed in the struggle 
of life, and we are destined to bequeath a race of vipers 
to future ages and generations. 

“What has produced the competitive system? The 
desire to live on the labor of others. Men go into busi- 
ness to escape labor, and business can only thrive on 
profits, and profits, as we have said in former issues of 
this paper, is the appropriation of the wealth created by 


ISO 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


labor. Profits urxder private capitalism consists of three 
elements. In the first place, the capitalist must calculate 
on making as large a return for his money as he would 
make in lending it on good security ; otherwise it would 
be better and safer to lend, his money on good security. 
He must secondly make allowances for risks ; for when he 
goes into business he hazards his investment, and he may 
fail and lose every dollar. If his chances are even, he 
must calculate on making more than one hundred per 
cent to cover all risks. Again, he must charge for su- 
perintendence and superior skill in conducting the busi- 
ness through dangerous epochs and seasons of depres- 
sion. This will probably make a total of one hundred and 
fifty per cent. 

“Now, when the article has passed from the farmer 
and the toiler through all the avenues of trade, and re- 
turns a finished product, its price has been augmented 
many fold, and the price paid for the accumulated labor 
will not purchase the commodity in the market, and thus 
economy is practiced from necessity. Hence, only a por- 
tion of the wealth created is disposed of, and the capitalist 
has a surplus in his storehouse. There is a wide gap 
created between the productive and the purchasing power 
of the nation. We are cursed from time to time with 
what people erroneously call over-production, but what 
is really under-consumption. The laborers of this coun- 
try are supposed to consume their ratio of all wealth pro- 
duced. Now the laboring element constitutes fifty-two 
per cent of the population, and they should consume fifty- 
two per cent of the wealth produced. But they only receive 
seventeen per cent of the wealth, in wages, and it is im- 
possible with seventeen per cent to buy fifty-two per cent. 
Therefore, a surplus accumulates and we are afflicted with 
over-production. Men are hungry and children arc naked, 
because so much is produced that it cannot be consumed ! 

“In order to sell tliis accumulated stock, merchants 
and manufacturers advertise extensively, and employ a 
number of traveling men to represent their wares in dis- 
tant cities. They fail to see that this extra expense must 
be added to their merchandise, and that the price being 
increased, the purchasing power of the consumer is cor- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


ISI 

respondingly diminished. One thousand firms in Toadia 
spend, each, one million dollars in advertising, making a 
total of bne billion dollars ; and there are one million, one 
hundred and twenty thousand that spend at least another 
billion. While this outlay must be added to the wares, yet 
people cannot afford to pay the advanced prices, and the 
merchants have recourse to adulteration, and cheap mer- 
chandise, and the cost is really greater in the end, and the 
health of the community is jeopardized and injured by 
poisoned food. 

“The next step is the reduction of the force employed, 
and this likewise curtails the purchasing power of the 
toilers, for men cannot buy when they have no work and 
no money. Then there is a reduction in wages, and this 
intensifies the situation. Finally, they introduce new 
machinery to diminish the cost of production, and thou- 
sands of employes are discharged, and swell the army of 
tramps. All the time the situation is growing more des- 
perate, for the purchasing power of the people is falling. 
The larger houses consolidate to reduce expenses and the 
smaller establishments, unable to compete with these 
gigantic concerns, perish in the conflict, and we have a 
crisis. Finally, when the vast stores of merchandise have 
been wasted and destroyed by competition, a season of ac- 
tivity dawns on the country, and people say that we have 
good times. Another period of over-production comes 
again, another period of starvation, another crisis ; and 
this has been the history of the industrial system of civil- 
ized nations for the last two hundred years. 

“A^ the productive power of civilization advances, the 
demand for labor will diminish, and this will necessitate 
a contraction of the purchasing power, and the gap will 
widen with every step forward. Wealth will become con- 
tracted more and more, the middle class will disappear, 
and the ranks of the masses will be swollen by large an- 
nual accessions from those who have been driven from 
the field of industry. But profits must decrease with the 
reduction of the purchasing power of laborers, till finally 
the inducements will not be sufficient to encounter the 
risks in business, and industry will wane, and civilization 


152 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


will retrograde. It is the inevitable result of the profit 
system. 

“But people say that competition, that involves waste, 
is beneficial to the community, for it gives employment 
to the idle. If waste is an advantage to industry, why not 
make a bonfire of all goods that cannot be sold in the mar- 
ket ? This would immediately destroy the curse of over- 
production, and industry would not be hampered, and 
years of distress and poverty would be avoided. This has 
been done on several occasions in order to create a de- 
mand for commodities. The Oriental Company in Mod- 
tian destroyed shiploads of corn and rice which had been 
held for high price until they were inju’-ed, and imme- 
diately prices were advanced so that the profits on the 
amounts saved compensated for the loss sustained in the 
waste. 

“As all wealth is produced by labor, waste must come 
from the sweat and brawn, bone and sinew, of the toilers. 
Cloth that is retailed at seventy-five cents per yard cost 
the manufacturer for material and labor twelve cents. 
Clothes worth eleven dollars are retailed at seventy dol- 
lars. The difference between the cost and the retail price, 
goes in profits to the manufacturer and the middlemen. 
Eliminate these profits, and this waste of energy, and the 
laborer will be well paid for his services, and the nation 
will not be cursed by over-production ; for when the wage- 
earner receives full compensation for his toil, he will live 
comfortably and his patronage will increase the sale of 
all those articles that administer to human desires. Here 
is a man engaged in a shoe factory, and he earns ten dol- 
lars per week, whereas he produces fifty dollars’ worth 
of wealth in the same period of time. An operative in a 
woolen factory likewise produces fifty dollars of wealth 
in a week, and receives ten dollars in payment. The shoe 
operative must work five weeks in order to purchase fifty 
dollars’ worth of clothes, and the operative in the woolen 
factory must work five weeks in order to purchase fifty 
dollars’ worth of shoes. Eliminate the profits and waste 
of our competitive system, and each man could procure 
the desired quantity of articles for one week’s labor. 
Therefore the hours of labor, under a co-operative com- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


153 


monwealth, would be reduced to one-fifth of the present 
working day. 

“The advantages of co-operation are demonstrated in 
the management of the trusts. The price of oil a few 
years ago was fifteen cents per gallon. Since the forma- 
tion of the National Oil Trust, the retail price is nine 
cents per gallon, and the cost is one cent per gallon, mak- 
ing a profit to the company of eight cents per gallon. It 
is true that the oil company pays its men fair wages ; but 
if the industry were owned and operated by society, the 
hours of labor would be reduced, thereby giving employ- 
ment to thousands of employers who are now walking 
the streets ; and, at the same time, the price of oil could 
be reduced to one-third of its present cost. Let the iron 
trust pass under governmental control, and the hours of 
labor will be likewise reduced, and demand for labor will 
be increased. If the other gigantic concerns were con- 
ducted by society, the same results would follow. 

“The trusts, having no competitors to meet, avoid all 
waste, and having complete control of their industries, are 
exposed to no risks, and therefore can place their products 
on the market for one-fifth the cost entailed by small con- 
cerns. But the trusts will never reduce the hours of 
wages when there is such a vast supply of labor. If their 
employes form a union and go on a strike, there are thou- 
sands of others who will only be too glad to fill their 
places. The government cannot justly interfere, for they 
can claim that it would be impossible for them to conduct 
business on a four or two-hour working day. In fact, to 
force the trusts to shorten the hours of labor or reduce 
the price of their commodities would be a violation of in- 
dividual liberty, the pride and boast, the life and soul of 
trade. If the government can legislate in fixing the hours 
of labor, or the price of commodities, then it has a right to 
conduct the business enterprises of the nation.” 


154 


BEYOND THE BLACKOCEAN 


CHAPTER XVII. 

Gilhooley and McGillicuddy were devoted friends of 
the Einstein family, and as they displayed every indica- 
tion of enamored youths, it was generally understood that 
Miss Biddy and Miss Mary Ann would some day be led 
to the altar of Hymen by the editors of “The Flaming 
Sword.” Lord Jesse continued his devotion to the cause 
of reform, and was idolized by the laboring class and their 
defenders, and especially by Isaac and Abraham. They 
were inseparable companions. Lord Jesse was also a fre- 
quent visitor at the Einstein mansion, and seemed to be 
very fond of Miss Biddy, but, as she never appeared in 
public with anyone but Isaac, it was supposed that she 
would assume the name of Mrs. Gilhooley, in preference 
to Lady Jesse. While Biddy admired the Danish noble- 
man for the sacrifices he had made for the triumph of 
justice, and on account of his attachment to her affianced 
husband and his companion, yet she did not approve of his 
gallantry, especially with some of the married ladies of 
Deboreh, and she spoke to her father about the matter, 
and thought that it would be prudent to exclude him from 
their home. Mr. Einstein, however, took a different view 
of the matter. 

“After all,” he said, in speaking to his daughter, “we 
cannot criminate Lord Jesse for responding to the many 
invitations from the fair sex, for he is a stranger in our 
country, and totally ignorant of any impropriety in riding 
in a carriage with a married woman. As long as they 
move in the best society, the presumption is that their 
conduct meets with public approval. No; Lord Jesse has 
many noble traits, and we must not condemn him for tri- 
vial indiscretions. I mean trivial on his part, inasmuch 
as he is not cognizant of the indecorum. If some one 
would speak to him about the matter, I know he would 
be more circumspect in the future.” 

“Well, papa, why do you not have a conference with 
him, or tell Isaac or Abraham'to act in your place?” 


•EYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


155 


“Yes, I will refer the matter to the boys, and they can 
remonstrate with Jesse in an amicable spirit, and as they 
are intimate friends, he will not be offended/* 

About two weeks later, Isaac and Abraham were con- 
versing on this subject in the editorial office. 

“I agree with Mr. Einstein and the girls,” remarked 
the former, “that Jesse has been rather indiscreet, but I 
attribute his improprieties to his ignorance of our social 
laws.’* 

“In fact,** replied Abraham, “this is the excuse he ren- 
dered when I broached the question to him, and he went 
on to say he would be more prudent in the future. It is 
very true that he would create suspicion, as he avers, if he 
would sever his relation with these people immediately; 
or even if he would ignore their invitations, unfavorable 
comments would be made by those whom he has neg- 
lected. But it would not create any adverse criticism if 
he were to abandon the society of Mrs. Gehtheimer, for 
people would say that he was nauseated with her mascu- 
line character and rude manners, and I think he would be 
applauded for his discernment.” 

“But at the same time,” replied Isaac, “he might asso- 
ciate with that old hag forever and the tongue of calumny 
would be silent, for she is au antidote to virile propensi- 
ties, and her presence would inspire the moral weakling 
with sentiments of single blessedness. If all women were 
like her, the world would be filled with celibates. But 
there is some danger in his relations with Mrs. Reisan. 
She is not over thirty years of age, and her husband is at 
least fifteen or twenty years her senior. Besides, he is 
not attractive, while she is both charming in appearance 
and vivacious in disposition, and Lord Jesse should not 
encourage the affection which seems to be drawing them 
closer together. I would not suspect either, for he is a 
man of noble aspirations, and while I have no admira- 
tion for Mrs. Reisan, at the same time I know that she is a 
faithful wife. But as the divine oracle says, ‘He that lov- 
cth danger shall perish in it,* and both have jeopardized 
their innocence and their reputation by too much famil- 
iarity.” 

“Not only have they jeopardized their reputation, but 


156 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


they have marred their social status. The public have 
been scandalized by their demeanor, and many have pre- 
dicted a divorce in the Reisan home.” 

“By the way, when we referred to the Gehtheimer fam- 
ily, it reminds me of poor Teddy. Is it not a pity that he 
cannot see that connubial relations with that family will 
degrade him in the esteem of all respectable people ?” 

“Teddy is hypnotized by Lucile, and he imagines that 
she is a goddess of beauty and an angel of perfection.” 

“She is a handsome girl, but the vile character of her 
mother would be enough for me.” 

“There is no doubt that the old lady was a demi-mode 
in her youthful days.” 

“Not only a demi-monde, but a child of the demi- 
monde. Her mother was a mistress of the lower world, 
and every bone and muscle, every inch of flesh and drop 
of blood in the composition of that old hag, is impregnated 
with the virus of corruption. Teddy Einstein should have 
more manhood than to bring the blush of shame to his 
pure-minded sisters by associating with that family, and 
especially by cementing his affection with the nuptial bond. 
You are engaged to Miss Mary Ann, and I intend to 
marry Miss Biddy, and we should take the matter in hand. 
It is an affair which concerns our honor. But, Abraham, 
I do not know what to do. You saw how indignant Teddy 
became when we expK>stulated with him. He threatened 
to strike me yesterday, if I ever presumed again to speak 
in disparaging terms of his mother-in-law, as he called 
her.” 

“What did you say in defense of your conduct ?” 

“Well, I did not wish to tell him all I knew, but I re- 
ferred to Mrs. Gehtheimer's enmity to us personally, and 
quoted the conversation between her and Mrs. Reisan, 
when both ladies vowed that ‘The Flaming Sword’ should 
be destroyed and its editors would ere long be incarcer- 
ated in the State prison. I, also, called his attention to the 
language used by Mrs. Reisan at the Queen’s Club, when 
she said that it would be her delight to see us tied to a 
whipping-post, and lashed till every drop of blood had 
oozed from our veins, and that Mrs. Gehtheimer em- 
phasized her malice by declaring that we should be hanged 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


157 


and quartered, and our heads posted on the courthouse 
tower.” 

“By the way,” interrupted Abraham, “it^s striking four, 
and I am engaged to speak to the railroad employes this 
evening at Labor Hall on the South Side, and I promised 
to take tea with Mr. Lohman at five; so I must go.” 

“What time shall I see you again, Mac ?” 

“Not before ten o’clock. The speech will not begin 
until eight, and I will talk about an hour and a half, or two 
hours, and when I get back to the hotel, it may be after 
ten.” 

“Well, good-by till then,” said Isaac. 

“Good-by, Gil,” and Mr. McGillicuddy left the office. 

The next morning the city of Deboreh was startled 
with the information that Teddy Einstein had been mur- 
dered in the Jechonias Park. His body was discovered 
on the south side of the lagoon in a lonely spot, called the 
Cascade, which was screened by a thick growth of trees 
and shrubbery. His throat was cut, and there was every 
indication of a fierce struggle. Evidently the assassin had 
choked his victims to prevent an outcry. The hands were 
cut in several places, and the impression was that Einstein 
had grasped the weapon in his effort to save his life. 

Was it a robbery ? The opinion was immediately dis- 
carded, for his watch, jewelry and money had not been 
molested. The first intimation of the assassination was 
borne to McGillicuddy by two officers, who came to arrest 
the editors of “The Flaming Sword.” 

“Teddy Einstein murdered !” cried McGillicuddy. 

“Yes, murdered, and you are accused of the crime.” 

“I accused of the crime of killing my own friend 1 Why 
the presumption is absurd! But I cannot believe that 
Teddy is dead. You say that he was killed last night?” 

“Yes, he was killed ’ast night, and, as officers of the 
law, we are armed with warrants for your arrest. If you 
are innocent, you will be able to disprove the accusation.” 

Abraham was taken before the city judge for examina- 
tion, and asked to state what he knew about the murder. 

“I know nothing,” said he. “I remember last night, 
when I returned from Labor Hall, that Isaac showed me a 
note from Teddy Einstein, asking for an interview in the 


153 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


Jechonias Park at eight o^clock, and he told me that he 
went to the place, at the hour designated, but failed to 
see Teddy.” 

“Where was he to meet Einstein?” 

“At the monument.” 

“You were not with him?” 

“How could I be with him in the Park and at Labor 
Hall at the same time ?” asked Abraham. 

“What time did you go to Labor Hall?” 

“About eight o’clock.” 

“What time did you leave there?” 

“About ten minutes to ten.” 

“Where did you go then?” 

“Directly to the hotel.” 

“What time did you arrive at the hotel?” 

“Possibly at twenty minutes past ten.” 

“You did not leave the hotel after that hour?” 

“No, not last night. Of course I left this morning, or 
I would not be here now.” 

“What did Gilhooley say when you met him last 
night ?’' 

“He told me that he went to the monument at eight 
o’clock, and staid there until after nine ; and, as Teddy did 
not appear, he thought it was very strange, and on his way 
home he called at Einstein’s to inquire for him. Mr. Ein- 
stein said that Teddy had left in the afternoon, and had not 
yet returned.” 

“Well, Mr. McGillicuddy, if you have some one to go 
your bond, which I will fix at ten thousand dollars, you 
may have your liberty for a few days.” 

“O, yes, I can get a thousand men in this city to go 
bail for me. Kindly wire to David Meyers.” 

Mr. Meyers responded willingly, and Abraham was re- 
leased from custody. 

The following note had been found in Teddy’s pocket : 
“Mr. Teddy Einstein: 

“Dear Sir — You have persisted in consorting with the 
daughter of a vile wretch, and because I have remonstrated 
with you, through the respect I have for your family, you 
have taken revenge in the lowest and basest calumny — 
reporting that my mother was never married, and had 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


159 


been renounced by her father for criminal relations with a 
Confederate officer, and that I am the child of unhallowed 
passion. You have, also, spoken disrespectfully of Mc- 
Gillicuddy’s mother. You must either retract those state- 
ments or suffer the consequences. I will meet you this 
evening in the Jechonias Park, at the monument, at eight 
o’clock, and if you disavow the statements, I will offer 
you the hand of friendship; but if you persist in your 
obstinacy, you must be prepared for a duel. Yours truly, 
“ISAAC GILHOOLEY.” 

“I approve the action of my friend, Gilhooley, and I 
will be present to see fair play. The duel shall be fought 
with knives ; so if you decide to fight, come armed with 
the necessary weapon. 

“ABRAHAM M’GILLICUDDY.” 

Abraham said that the chirography seemed to point 
to him and his friend, but he claimed that he had no knowl- 
edge of the note, and denounced it as a forgery. It was 
ascertained that Gilhooley had left the city early that 
morning for Meron to visit his mother, and this strength- 
ened the suspicion. The authorities examined the ward- 
robe of the editors, and they discovered a pair of panta- 
loons and vest, the former belonging to Gilhooley and the 
latter to McGillicuddy ; and both garments were stained 
with blood. The circumstances were too strong ; and the 
sheriff immediately wired to Meron authorizing the sheriff 
of that city to take Gilhooley into custody. It was like 
a peal of thunder from a cloudless sky, when the officer 
of Meron informed Gilhooley of Teddy’s assassination, 
and he was amazed when told that he and Abraham were 
charged with the murder. On his person they found the 
following note : 

“Dear Isaac and Abraham : 

“We have long been friends, and I regret the measures 
you have adopted. I think the difficulty can be satisfac- 
torily settled without resorting to extremes. I will com- 
ply with your wish, and meet you this evening in the Park, 
at the monument, at eight o’clock. Yours very sincerely, 

“TEDDY EINSTEIN.” 

“How’ do you account for this note ?” asked the sheriff. 

“I received that note in the last mail yesterday after- 


l 60 BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 

noon. Abraham had already left the office, and I would 
not see him till late in the evening; so I went alone to 
the monument, reaching the place about two minutes be- 
fore eight, and I remained till ten minutes past nine. I 
presumed, then, that it was a joke perpetrated by Teddy, 
and I determined to go home and say nothing to any one 
about my visit to the Park, for I knew my friends would 
ridicule my credulity. However, I decided to call at Mr. 
Einstein’s, and inquire for Teddy, thinking that I would 
meet him and adjust our difficulties ” 

“What difficulties did you have with Teddy?” 

“We had some words a few days ago about his associa- 
tions and nuptial prospects. Teddy is supposed to be 
engaged to Miss Lucile Gehtheimer, to the humiliation 
of his family and the disappointment of his friends. Mr. 
Einstein and the young ladies requested us to use our 
influence to dissuade Teddy from consorting with the 
~ daughter of Mrs. Gehtheimer, for they anticipated that his 
friendship for the young lady would be sealed by a matri- 
monial alliance. Abraham and I spoke to Teddy on the 
subject, but he was obstinate in his position. In the early 
part of the week, I referred to the question, when I was 
alone with Teddy, and he became furious and threatened 
to slap me in the face, if I ever dared to derogate from the 
honor due to his mother-in-law. Since then, we have not 
seen him, and when I received his note, I was mystified, 
because he wrote as if it were in answer to some proposi- 
tion I had made, and I am not cognizant of having made 
any proposition to him.” 

“Mr. Gilhooley, shall you accompany me without 
forcing me to obtain requisition papers from the Gover- 
nor?” 

“Why, certainly. I intended to return on the late train 
this evening, and I will go with you now, if you are 
ready.” 

“The next train leaves here at half-past one this after- 
noon,” said the sheriff, “and we will go on that train.” 

When Isaac arrived at the station that afternoon, he 
was met by a host of friends, who declared their belief in 
his innocence, and swore to be faithful to him in his trou- 
bles. His examining trial took place the next morning. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN l6l 

and his bond was fixed at twenty thousand dollars, and 
Mr. Einstein offered the security. The family of the vic- 
tim would not for a moment entertain any suspicion that 
Isaac and Abraham were guilty of the crime with which 
they were charged, and in the depths of their sorrow 
offered their sympathy to the editors of “The Flaming 
Sword.” The young men were deeply gratified for this 
taken of confidence in their innocence, and they accepted 
Mr. Einstein’s view, that it was a plot to destroy the hap- 
piness of his family, and to bring the defenders of the 
laboring element into disrepute, and to paralyze the in- 
fluence of the reform journal. Lord Jesse did not ex- 
press a decided opinion, but said that if they were guilty 
he would never again repose any confidence in human 
nature. 

“I cannot think that two men of their character would 
play the role of assassins; yet the circumstances are 
criminating. I hope they will be able to exculpate them- 
selves, for I had expected great things from those young 
men, and it would make me a misanthrope should I be 
disappointed in my expectations. Besides, with the con- 
demnation of Gilhooley and McGillicuddy, the cause of 
labor and the triumph of justice are defeated.” 

The assassination of Teddy Einstein was a sword to the 
heart of his family, and caused profound grief among his 
friends. His funeral was one of the largest that ever took 
place in Deboreh. Isaac and Abraham were among the 
mourners, and it was a surprise to the public when the 
first walked into the church with Miss Biddy and the sec- 
ond with Miss Mary Ann. Mrs. Reisan made a remark 
to Mrs. Gehtheimer about the intimacy of the editors 
with the Einsteins, and her companion replied that the two 
editors had so enchanted the Einstein family that “the 
black stain of murder has no power to break the charm. 
The Einsteins are such respectable people, I am perfectly 
astonished that they would select such base-born friends.” 

“I have heard something very derogatory about the 
paternity of Gilhooley,” said Mrs. Reisan. 

“O, there is no doubt about the question. His mother 
was a daughter of Jeremiah Rosenthal, the banker of 
Engeddi ; and her father sent her to Simeon to finish her 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


162 

studies in art. On the ship she met a young Confederate 
officer, who paid her frequent visits after she was matricu- 
lated at the Academy of Music in Rubek. When Mr. 
Rosenthal went over to bring his daughter home, he 
found that she had contracted a liaison with young Mose 
Gilhooley, and was enceinte as a result of her illicit love 
Mr. Rosenthal renounced nis daughter and came home 
and married. The mistake made by Louise Rosenthal, 
like all illegal relations, terminated very unfortunately for 
the poor girl. The wretch, who made her the victim of 
his lust, abandoned his paramour when her pregnancy 
became apparent^ and she was necessitated to seek refuge 
in the bagnios of Rubek. In the course of time, when the 
gay world lost its charms for her, she attempted to reform, 
and she returned to this country and was adopted by the 
Gilhooley family, who pitied Isaac, the illegitimate off- 
spring of Moses Gilhooley, the Confederate officer.” 

“I heard that story before,” said Mrs. Reisan, “but I 
did not know that it had been authenticated.” 

“Authenticated beyond doubt; and I can go farther, 
and say that McGillicuddy’s antecedents are not any bet- 
ter, but they are not so well known, as his parentage is 
wrapped in obscurity.” 

The funeral sermon was delivered, and the remains of 
Teddy Einstein were laid to rest in the family vault in 
Cave Hill cemetery. Thus closed the tragedy which 
blighted the hopes of youthful hearts, palpitating with the 
first warm kiss of innocent love. 


CHAPTER XVHL 

Miss Biddy Einstein was engaged in reading the latest 
issue of “The Flaming Sword,” when Mr. Nehlmeyer 
stepped into the hall and greeted her father. The topics 
of the day were freely discussed, and in a short time the 
trio were deeply involved in a conversation of the justice 
and wisdom of Socialism. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


163 


“I agree with The Flaming Sword/ ” said Nehl- 
meyer, '‘that Socialism is the only remedy for the evils of 
this age ; yet I think it would be better not to criminate 
the capitalists, for that engenders a class hatred, and in- 
tensifies the situation. Many people imagine that the ob- 
ject of the Socialists consists in enmity to the wealthy.” 

“There is a splendid paper on that phase of the ques- 
tion in this week’s issue of The Sword,’ ” said Miss Bid- 
dy, “and I think it will contribute largely to dissipate that 
error. Have you read it yet, Mr. Nehlmeyer?” 

“No, I have not seen the paper.” 

“Well, here it is ; and I want you to read it before we 
go any farther.” 

“Why, certainly, with much pleasure,” said Mr. Nehl- 
meyer; and, taking the paper from the young lady, he 
perused the following article : 

“The capitalist is not responsible for the evils of the, 
competitive system ; but he is the product of the system, 
and were he to abandon the methods that govern modern 
industry, he would be victimized by forces beyond his con- 
trol. Ten men engage in manufacturing cloth. They 
pay their employes three dollars per day, and still they 
make reasonable profits. All are satisfied, with one ex- 
ception. This ambitious individual dreams of a crystal 
palace with golden halls. His daughter is destined to rule 
the elite society of New Israel. She is too noble to mingle 
with the plebeian herd of her native land, and must seek 
an alliance with some aristocratic house beyond the bil- 
lows of the deep. But she is not the scion of a titled sire, 
and she must purchase a name with bars of gold. The 
profits realized in his business are too meager to enable his 
child to triumph over the obscurity of her origin, and win 
the smiles of the gartered knight of the castle. 

“He has one thousand men employed. If he could 
reduce their wages one-third it would enable him to save 
one thousand dollars per day on the labor of his men. 
This would make an annual profit of $350,000. He informs 
his employes that times are hard, the financial market is 
stringent, and they must be contented with two dollars 
per day. The men remonstrate with him against this 
measure, call his attention to the fact that other manufac- 


164 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


turers are paying three dollars per day, and they can not 
work for less. But the manufacturer is- obstinate. The 
employes grow indignant, hold a meeting, and decide to 
suspend operations unless their demands are granted, But 
all in vain. The employer must accumulate a fortune in 
a few years, and this will be an impossibility unless his 
profits are enhanced. The men go on a strike. The fac- 
tory is closed. The employer seeks labor in other cities, 
but his efforts are useless. Industry is active, wages are 
reasonable, and his* inducements are scorned. 

'‘His competitors are getting more trade, and are 
thinking of increasing their force. He sees that he is 
conquered. He goes to the strikers with a bland smile, 
and requests them to resume operation, saying that he is 
unable to pay higher wages, but he wants to be just to his 
employes, if he does not make any money. The next year 
the manufacturer hears of a machine that will dispense 
with half the labor now employed. He imports this ma- 
chine and selects five hundred of his most efficient men, 
and discharges the others. These who are dismissed, 
seeing that a strike will have no effect, offer to work for 
two dollars and a half per day. The others drop to two 
dollars per day, and yet five hundred men are on the labor 
market. 

“They go to the next factory and offer their services 
for one dollar and fifty cents per day. But the employer 
says, “I have introduced a new machine which dispenses 
with half of the labor formerly employed, and I have just 
dismissed five hundred men.” These two brigades move 
on to the third factory. Competition has forced the man- 
agement in that establishment to introduce new methods-, 
and half the men have been discharged. The army of 
fifteen hundred moves on to the fourth factory, and con- 
ditions being the same, their ranks are increased by an- 
other regiment. When they reach the fifth factory they 
are joined by the entire working force, including the pro- 
prietor, for he, not being able to purchase the new ma- 
chinery, is unable to contend with his competitors, and is 
driven from the bloody arena. A few months more, and 
the five other establishments meet with the same fate. 

“Why did not the nine honest men combine against 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


165 

the first ? Why did they follow his example ? Because, if 
they had not adopted the machinery, and reduced the 
labor force, and the wages of their employes, the first 
could have put his wares on the market at a lower figure, 
and ruined their trade. The capitalist, therefore, is not 
responsible for the evils of the system, but he is guilty of 
the crimes of individualism if he supports the system. 

“A husbandman had prepared a net to entrap the 
crows that were devouring his crops, and when he went to 
examine his contrivance, he found a stork. The bird 
said: T am not a crow, and I have not destroyed your 
crops.’ ‘That may be very true,’ said the husbandman, 
‘but I have discovered you with those who were destroy- 
ing my crops, and you must expect to suffer with the com- 
pany in which you were taken.’ So, if the capitalist sup- 
ports the system of robbery, he is guilty of the crimes of 
robbery in spite of his protestations of innocence. Christ 
says, ‘He that is not with me is against me,’ and Socialists 
say that those who are opposed to collectivism are the 
enemies of mankind. 

“We have quite a number of millionaire Socialists 
both in this country and New Israel, and yet they are com- 
pelled to adopt the methods of individualism until the in- 
auguration of collectivism. 

“When machinery was first introduced into the coun- 
tries of the old world, laborers waged a fierce crusade 
against the improvements in productions, for they saw 
that it meant privation and poverty to them instead of 
ease and luxury. Bands of toilers were formed for the 
express purpose of destroying machinery, and they would 
sally forth under the wings of nocturnal shadows, and 
break the new invention that had been introduced. The 
pen of the poet would utterly fail to describe the sorrow 
that followed in the wake of invention. We read of the 
terrible massacres of ancient history, and we are shocked 
by the barbarities of those savage times. But the victims 
of invention have been more numerous than, all the wars 
that have desolated the globe from the earliest days of the 
human race until the glorious civilization of the nineteenth 
century. Under Socialism, machinery would be utilized to 
diminish human toil, and fill the home of the laborer with 


i66 


BEYOND tHE BLACK OGEAN 


every comfort and every joy. Instead of dismissing men 
with the introduction of labor-saving improvements into 
the factories, we have instanced, the entire force would be 
retained, and the hours of the woi'king day would be di- 
minished. 

'‘We have made wonderful advances in productive facil- 
ities in the last quarter of a century. To-day the Kidron 
slaughter-houses, with the introduction of improved 
methods, save large quantities of an animal that were 
formerly wasted. The bone, sinew, blood and hair of 
swine are utilized, and the by-products of a steer are now 
worth more than the meat. Forty different articles are 
made from the by-products of petroleum. The trusts have 
dispensed with the labor of five hundred thousand men 
and have thereby saved millions of dollars. In the course 
of fifty years labor will be almost dispensed with, and 
under individualism the working class are doomed to 
perish. 

“The capitalist will seek his profits as usual. The two 
great parties of this country hold out inducements for the 
perpetuation of individualism, and decry the pretensions 
of Socialism. I use individualism in the industrial sense 
of the word. What do the parties offer as a panacea for 
the ever-increasing evils of the competitive system ? The 
Protectionists say that we must protect our laborers by 
imposing a high tariff on all foreign imports. In the first 
place, this remedy is an insult to the laborer, who is rep- 
resented as a helpless infant, who could not live unless 
shielded by the strong arm of the law. The laborer needs 
no other protection than the right to the fruit of his toil. 
If he were not robbed by the capitalist of the wealth which 
he produces, there would be no necessity for protection. 

“Again, to keep out foreign products in order to pro- 
tect the laborers of this country from the necessity of 
competing with the low wages of New Israel, is an ad- 
mission that competition is disastrous. If it be the life of 
trade, as individualism contends, why should we adopt 
measures to prevent it? Why not make it universal? 
Competition is founded on the principle that wages is 
regulated by supply and demand. W’hen supply is greater 
than demand wages will be low ; and when wages is low. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 167 

competition forces down the price of commodities, and 
thus the requirements of the laborer can be satisfied with 
his small income. 

“But the Protectionists maintain that a high tariff 
would not only increase prices and therefore advance 
wages, but is a source of revenue. This statement con- 
tains a contradiction. If the tariff is high enough to pre- 
vent foreign importations altogether, revenue from this 
source immediately ceases; and if the foreign manufac- 
turer is enabled to sell his commodities in spite of the high 
tariff, the protection immediately ceases. If we wish to 
protect our home industries, we should close our harbors 
to the ships of the world. If we did not wish to resort to 
such drastic measures, it would be cheaper to give a 
bounty for the encouragement of our industries. To raise 
this by taxation would entail less expense than our pres- 
ent mode of collecting tariff, for now, in addition to the 
tax levied on industry, we are necessitated to keep an 
army of officials for the purpose of collecting this tax. 
Moreover, protection is based on the supposition that we 
are able to consume all our produce, and if other nations 
did not interfere with the extent of our trade by the im- 
portation of their materials, every furnace would be aglow 
with the white heat of industry ; every city would be filled 
with the noise of anvil and bellows, the hum of mill and 
factory, the babel of human voices exchanging commodi- 
ties in the store and on the market square ; and every field 
would be alive with the music of the reaper and the 
mower ; and every meadow would echo with the bleating 
of the flocks and the lowing of the kine. The painters of 
these dazzling dreams of commercial splendor forget that 
we could support the world with our present force of 
mechanical skill, and, therefore, it is puerile to think that 
the appetites and desires of the Toadian people can be so 
enormously increased by a high protective tariff, so as to 
consume the products of our industries. And even if we 
had the desire, how can the laboring class consume their 
ratio of the products when their purchasing power is so 
reduced by the profit system ? 

“The object of civilization is to give man all the com* 


i68 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN. 


forts of life, with the least exertion, so that he may de- 
vote his time to mental pursuits ; and this is what the gov- 
ernment of individualism fails to accomplish. A farmer 
is engaged in raising corn. Some distance away another 
husbandman grows wheat. A middleman opens a store, 
and buys the corn of the first for fifty cents per bushel and 
sells it to the latter for seventy-five cents per bushel. He, 
likewise, purchases the wheat of the latter for fifty cents 
per bushel and sells it to the former for seventy-five cents 
per bushel. The middleman makes twenty-five cents on 
every transaction, and the farmers lose the same amount. 
The middleman is a parasite living on the labor of his two 
customers. But the picture is very faintly drawn. Here 
we have one parasite living on two producers, whereas 
there are twenty parasites subsisting on the toil of one 
producer. Ninety-five per cent of our population are para- 
sites, and that is the reason for the slow advance of So- 
cialism. Men rebel against the introduction of a just sys- 
tem of industry, for economic justice would force them to 
earn their living by the sweat of their brow. 

“The remedies proposed by the exponents of the two 
great parties call to my mind the ancient fable. The cat 
offered her assistance to the sick hen, and the latter re- 
plied, “Do you be good enough to leave me, and I have no 
fear but I shall soon be well.'’ Let the Protectionists and 
the Liberals and all the throng of parasites get off the 
back of the laborer, and he will soon be well, prosperous 
and contented. The Presidential campaign is inaugu- 
rated; each party clamors for power, promising grand 
results if elected. The successful party is enthroned, and 
its disciples are looking for the birth of a new era, but, 
like the mountain in labor, the disgruntled multitude are 
undeceived in the birth of a mouse. 

“We have seen that the Protectionist party offers no 
remedies for the social evils that afflict civilized nations. 
The specific proposed by the Liberals is equally futile. If 
we sell our grain to Dan, the Toadian farmer is con- 
strained to compete with the poorly paid husbandmen of 
Kurush, Arabic and Simeon. Dan imports her hardware 
and cloth to Toadia, and our laborers must enter into 
competition and accept the low wages paid by the manu- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


169 


facturers of Asher and Zabulon to the employes engaged 
in these industries. Hence, competition becomes uni- 
versal, and, therefore, more complex. The laborers can- 
not combine and make a world-wide fight against capital ; 
but the latter can consolidate its forces against labor, 
and arm itself with a sword of power that Omnipotence 
alone can annihilate. Free trade is a question that con- 
cerns the capitalist alone, but has no message for labor. 
In the universal struggle for trade, the stronger nations 
succeed, and the weaker must perish. 

“To presume that we can feed the world implies that 
other nations cannot feed themselves. Now, if they can- 
not feed themselves, they must produce other articles 
which they sell to us in exchange for our commodities, 
and hence we must import as much in one line as we ex- 
port in another, as foreign nations cannot buy our pro- 
duce, unless they sell sufficient quantities of their produce 
to make their purchases. Trade between two nations is 
based on the presumption that one country can produce 
certain commodities cheaper than another. Our facilities 
for raising wheat are greater than those enjoyed; by the 
farmers of Dan; but the Danish factories can prciiuce 
cloth with less espense than the factories of Toadia. 
Hence we sell cereals to the operatives in the Danish fac- 
tories ; but they must sell their cloth to our people, in or- 
der to get money to make the purchases. Therefore, the 
employes in our manufacturing establishments lose as 
much trade by the importation of cloth as our farmers 
make by the exportation of wheat. 

“There are some commodities which cannot be grown 
in this country, such as tea and coffee, and we purchase 
these from Nachin, and pay for them in such products 
of our climate as cannot be raised in the Orient. Since 
every nation supports itself, and must support itself, 
foreign trade is simply an exchange for equivalents, and 
does not increase the sale of any nation above its pur- 
chases, and the scramble for foreign trade is simply a 
waste of energy. To-day both parties are building their 
hopes on foreign trade. The Protectionists claim that we 
should hold Heron and Ammon and extend our dominion 
into the Orient, for the sake of foreign trade ; and while 


170 BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 

the free trade party does not advocate territorial expan- 
sion, yet it is founded on commercial expansion. 

“Both contend that commercial expansion is the glory 
of the nation. It is, they say, essential to our industries, 
and without it we are doomed to perish. We have seen 
that this doctrine is an absurdity, and history contradicts 
the assumption that foreign trade advances the prosper- 
ity of nations. For one hundred years Dan has been the 
greatest commercial nation in the trans-arctic world. She 
has been feeding on the weaker nations, and yet she is 
full of paupers. The condition of the laboring class is far 
more deplorable than it was in the thirteenth century, be- 
fore foreign trade was known. Her people have been 
driven by the pangs of hunger to seek refuge in frozen 
zones, and her colonists, though bled by the plutocrats 
of Hosea, are more prosperous than her home popula- 
tion. A few years ago a number of immigrants were on 
a ship bound for the shores of the New World. When 
they reached this country they were interviewed by a re- 
porter for a daily paper, and each was requested to give 
his reason for leaving his native land and seeking refuge 
under the glitter of western stars. Many acknowledged 
that it was poverty that brought them to Toadia. But 
among them was an Ephraimite, who said, “It was not 
poverty that brought me to this country, for I had plenty 
of that at home.^ 

“We have made much of the distressed condition of 
the Ephraimitic population ; but statistics prove that the 
poverty of the Danish laborer is more deplorable than 
the peasants of the sister island. The people of Ephraim 
imagine that it is the foreign government which has im- 
poverished them, and their open rebellion against the 
domination of the Lion has attracted the attention of all 
civilized nations, and all peoples have become familiar 
with their sad conditions. The Danish people are ruled by 
the court of Hosea, the capital of their native land ; and, 
actuated by a spirit of love and patriotism, they attribute 
their poverty to natural causes, instead of social malad- 
justments. It is the bad government that oppressed 
Ephraim, and the same bad government has impoverished 
Dan, and has blighted every civilized nation in the world. 


BEYOND ThE BLACK OCEAN 


I71 

It is the government of plutocracy, waging an incessant 
and remorseless war against the rights of labor, against 
justice, love and humanity. Home rule, or independence, 
would be no advantage to the Ephraimites as long as the 
means of production are in the hands of a few titled 
drones. 

'‘Asher has enjoyed foreign trade longer than any 
other nation, and yet her people are slowly starving and 
passing away. Nephthali and Zabulon have a large trade 
in the distant realms of the east and west, and among the 
islands of the stormy flood, and yet their people are 
poorer than they were six hundred years ago, when the 
light of civilization was lingering on their mountain peaks 
and the shadows of barbarism still brooded over their val- 
leys, and wrapped their rills and streams and meads and 
leas in the sombre folds of pagan darkness. 

“The Protectionists and Liberals remind me of the 
story enshrined in the works of the ancient fabulist. A 
man whose head was crowned with a wealth of black hair 
streaked with grey, married two wives. One was sev- 
eral years his senior, and the other was several years 
his junior. The elder lady was anxious to see her 
husband don the appearance of age, so that she would not 
suffer by contrast, and she manifested her solicitude by 
pulling out the black hairs from his head. The other 
spouse was equally desirous that he should retain his 
youthful appearance, and she employed her leisure hours 
in pulling out the grey hairs. The gallant hero of two 
fond hearts was delighted with the manifestations of af- 
fection on the part of his wives, till finally he was sur- 
prised to learn that he was entirely bald by the double op- 
eration. The laborer to-day is being picked by the two 
great parties of the nation under the pretense of affec- 
tion, and in a few years from now he will realize the sad 
condition of his nakedness.” 

“That is a very able defense of Socialism,” said Mr. 
Nehlmeyer, when he had finished the communication. 

“I think,” said Mr. Einstein, “that it contains the 
most cogent plea that I have ever read on the question.” 

For some time they discussed the labor problem, the 
pretensions of the plutocratic minority, that governed the 


BEYOND THE BLACE OCEAN 


\n 

two leading parties, and the progress that the reform 
movement was making among the masses. 

“I see,” said Mr. Einstein, “there are now twenty-four 
Socialist papers in Toadia, and within the last few years 
more than fifty books and pamphlets have been written 
in defense of collectivism.” 

“That is very encouraging,” replied Mr. Nehlmeyer. 
“It shows that the masses are thinking. Ten years ago it 
w'as dangerous to speak of Socialism among cultured peo- 
ple, and the laboring class considered it a chimera.” 

“Well, like everything in the history of civilization,” 
commented Mr. Einstein, “it takes time to develop the 
idea. In fact, all new methods have been forced on the 
world by the law of necessity. Fifty years ago the inau- 
guration of Socialism would have been a failure, for in- 
dustry had not reached that stage of perfection. The 
trusts are systemizing industry, and it is now time for so- 
ciety to assume the duty of production and distribution.” 

“That is very true, and I hope the day is near at hand 
when we will have the co-operative commonwealth.” 

With these words Mr. Nehlmeyer rose to depart, ex- 
pressing his thanks for the pleasure afforded him by his 
visit to the Einstein home, and promising to return at an 
early date. 


CHAPTER XIX. 

During the first week of September the trial of the 
editors for the murder of Teddy Einstein took place. It 
was proved by more than fifty witnesses that McGillicuddy 
was at Labor Hall before eight o’clock on the evening of 
the murder, and that he left there near ten, and returned 
directly to the hotel. No one saw him leave after that 
time. Although the note to Teddy was signed in McGil- 
licuddy’s handwriting, yet he persistently denied any 
knowledge of the note. Abraham was requested to write 
the same note in the courthouse; and although the ex- 
perts claimed that there were some slight discrepancies in 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


173 


the formation of some of the letters, yet they maintained 
that this could easily occur, that (here was, no doubt, an. 
attempt to disguise the chirography in the first note, and 
they sturdily maintained that the same man had written 
the two notes. The vest was brought into court, and 
Abraham admitted that it was his garment, but claimed 
that he did not wear it the evening that the murder was 
committed. 

“How do you remember that so distinctly?” inquired 
the attorney for the State. 

“Because I had an invitation to take tea at Mr. Toll- 
man’s at five o’clock; and at noon I put on my best 
clothes, a new suit, which I had worn but a few times ; 
and I do net presume that you will call that a new vest.” 

It was clear to the court that McGillicuddy had not 
committed the crime, for his alibi was too well sustained ; 
and, although the handwriting and the vest were sus- 
picious circumstances, yet the |ury rendered a verdict of 
acquittal without one dissenting voice. 

Isaac was called the next morning, and the court- 
house, including halls and rooms, were crowded by the 
friends and enemies of the prisoner, newspaper reporters, 
curiosity-seekers, and the idlers of the city who had no 
other place to go. The first witness was Mrs. Gehtheimer. 
She swore that Teddy Einstein came to her home in the 
afternoon, and showed her the letter which had been found 
in his pocket by the officers. 

“He was pale and worried, but he said that he had not 
spoken disrespectfully of Gilhooley’s mother, and he felt 
that the affair could easily be averted. He said that he 
had written to the editors, offering to meet them at the 
monument, and promising to be able to exculpate himself 
from the charges contained in the challenge. We tried to 
dissuade Teddy from going, for we knew that those young 
men were dangerous characters, and were silent envies 
of the Einstein family, and were merely using their influ- 
ence for political purposes.” 

“How do you know that McGillicuddy and Gilhooley 
were secret enemies of the Einstein family ?” asked the 
attorney for the defense. 

“Because I have heard it frequently; and they even 


174 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


made disparaging and insulting remarks about Miss Biddy 
and Miss Mary Ann in the presence of Mr. Reisan and 
Mr. Gehtheimer.” 

“Why did not Teddy Einstein take your advice, and 
keep away from the Park that night 

“He had so much confidence in the gentlemen that he 
did not think they would injure him. He said they were 
engaged to his sisters, and they thought that his people 
were the grandest in the city. He seemed to be hypno- 
tized by those men, though he admitted that unfriendly 
relations had existed between them and him for some 
time, on account of the attention he had been paying to 
my daughter. But he said that it was only a family affair, 
and he did not consider it serious.'' 

“What time did Teddy leave for the Park ?” 

“We took him down in the carriage about seven in the 
evening. Mr. Gehtheimer and Lord Jesse went with us. 
We left Teddy at the monument at about forty minutes 
past seven. We told him that we would take a drive, and 
call for him at about nine. Teddy said that it would not 
be necessary, as his business might detain him longer, 
and then, again, it might be over in a few minutes, and 
that he would return in the car. We drove by the monu- 
ment about twenty minutes past nine, or a few minutes 
later, but as we saw no one, we went home." 

“Did you not see Gilhooley in the Park ?" inquired the 
attorney for the State. 

“We saw him after we left the monument. We passed 
him as he was walking toward the entry." 

“How did he look?" 

“It was rather dark in the place where we passed him, 
and I did not notice. In fact. Lord Jesse did not see him 
either, that is, he did not recognize him till Mr. Gehthei- 
mer made the remark that the gentleman we passed was 
Mr. Gilhooley." 

“Did you see Teddy Einstein after you left him at the 
monument?" 

“Not till I saw his corpse at his father’s residence." 

The next witness was Mr. Gehtheimer, who confirmed 
the testimony of his wife in every particular. Lord Jesse 
was then called on to give his evidence. He stated that he 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


175 


was at the Gehtheimer mansion for dinner that evening, 
“but as I was a friend of the editors, the family did not 
speak to me about the matter. They said they were go- 
ing for a drive in the Park, and they asked me to accom- 
pany them. They said that Teddy had an engagement 
to meet some friends at the monument, but did not men- 
tion the names of the persons he was to meet, nor the na- 
ture of the business they were to transact.” 

“Did you not think the Park was a peculiar place to 
transact business ?” 

“Well, indeed, that thought never entered my mind, 
as no intimation had been made, and my suspicions were 
not in the least excited.” 

“Did you see Teddy Einstein leave the carriage?” 

“I did.” 

“Where did he leave the carriage?” 

“At the monument.” 

“What time was that?” 

“I presume that it was near eight o’clock.” 

“Did you return to the monument?” 

“Yes, a little while after nine.” 

“Did you look at your watch?” 

“No, but when we were more than a mile beyond the 
monument, I heard the clocks striking nine, and called 
Mrs. Gehtheimer’s attention to the fact that it was getting 
late.” 

“Did you see Teddy again that night?” 

“I did not.” 

“Did you see Gilhooley in the Park that night?” 

“I saw a man walking along toward the entry, as we 
were leaving the Park, and Mr. Gehtheimer said. There 
is Gilhooley,’ and I turned quickly and recognized him.” 

Ten other witneses testified that they saw Gilhooley 
enter the Park, between half-past seven and eight o’clock. 
Three men passing the monument some time after eight 
o’clock had seen Gilhooley sitting on a bench near by, but 
only one was personally acquainted with Isaac. This 
gentleman was Samuel Lekenmeyer. He addressed the 
editor by name, and the latter responded, but did not seem 
inclined to encourage a conversation. Five witnesses 


176 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


testified they saw Gilhooley walking toward the Park 
gate after nine o’clock. 

The testimony was completed and Isaac was requested 
to take the stand and give his version of the story. Every 
eye was fixed on him as he sat by the desk of the vener- 
able Judge. Many said that he was the picture of inno- 
cence. Others claimed that it requires an innocent face 
to make a consummate villain ; while more pretended they 
saw murder stamped on every feature. Isaac was asked 
to say what he knew about the murder of Teddy Einstein, 
and he responded that he “knew nothing more than has 
been said. I am innocent of the charge preferred against 
me. This is a plot to destroy my life for political pur- 
poses, and I hope that God will assist me in the hour of 
my trial, and allow me to live long enough to clear my 
name from infamy.” 

The jury retired, and in less than an hour returned 
with the verdict of murder in the first degree, with the 
penalty of death for the crime. The enemies of Isaac sent 
a shout of triumph through the crowded courtroom. But 
he had friends, and their devotion was manifested in the 
sighs and sobs and shrieks and wails that rose above the 
coarse, brutal yells of the fiends who long had thirsted 
for the blood of the two young men, who had so valiantly 
defended the cause of justice. Abraham sat beside his 
college companion, and offered to sacrifice his life if it 
were necessary to rescue him from the felon’s grave. Miss 
Biddy threw her arms around him and cried so piteously 
that the lawyers. Judge and jury wept. 

“My dear boy,” she moaned, “what have they done 
to you? They have killed my only brother, and now 
they will rob me of my dear friend. Yes, Isaac, you are 
innocent. We know that you are innocent. You are too 
noble to commit a cowardly crime. My darling boy, you 
must not die. O, it will break my heart ! O, Judge, please 
save him! He is not guilty. You do not know him. 
What! my dear Isaac guilty of killing my brother! No, 
Isaac, no ! You did not do it ! I love you, and I will love 
you forever!” 

Miss Mary Ann was weeping with one arm around her 
sister’s neck and the other resting on Isaac’s shoulder, 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


177 


The court was disturbed by the hysterical screams of 
Mrs. Gehtheimer, who was weeping with her daughter 
for the loss of a son-in-law. 

“My Teddy killed!’' exclaimed Mrs. Gehtheimer; 
“murdered by that fiend 1 Murdered in cold blood by that 
vile brute ! O, gentlemen, hang him immediately 1 His 
very breath is poison to the community. Take him out 
and burn him at the stake !” 

Mrs. Reisan was consoling her friend, and assuring 
her that ample justice would be done those two men and 
their confederates. Their scream>s of hypocrisy created 
sympathy among the rabble, and an effort was made to 
deliver speedy justice upon the head of the culprit. A 
body of men took up the cry, and called for the Sheriff to 
“Give up the prisoner! We will hang him right here!” 
and they made a rush toward Gilhooley. But, like a flash 
of lightning, a hundred pistols were displayed, and the 
dastardly mob trembled and fled, and Gilhooley was taken 
to the jail to await his execution, which was fixed for 
the eighteenth of October. 

Mr. Reisan and his wife invited Lord Jesse to enter 
their carriage, and on the way home the question of Gil- 
hooley’s condemnation was freely discussed. 

“What do you think of your friend now ?” asked Mrs. 
Reisan. 

“I am astounded !” replied Lord Jesse. “There can be 
no doubt that Gilhooley killed Teddy Einstein, and that 
McGillicuddy was his accomplice, inasmuch as he coun- 
tenanced the murder, and assisted in planning the meet- 
ing in the Park.” 

“How do you account for the blood on McGillicuddy’s 
vest, if he were not an actual participant in the crime?” 

“That could easily have happened without the pres- 
ence of McGillicuddy. Perhaps Gilhooley by mistake, or 
purposely, wore Abraham’s vest that evening. In any 
case they are both equally guilty, and should be executed 
on the same day. We make mistakes sometimes, and it is 
only by experience that we learn our errors. I would 
have sacrificed my life for those men, because I thought 
they were the very soul of honor and seemed to have but 
one ambition, the amelioration of the laboring class. As 


178 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


I had suffered for the triumph of justice in my native land, 
and came to this country to realize my dreams of reforma- 
tion, it was quite natural that I should affiliate with the 
editors of ‘The Flaming Sword.’ However, I see now 
that I was beguiled, and I have not the slightest hesitancy 
in concurring with the general opinion that all reforms 
of that character are conducted by men of the darkest 
hue, whose ultimate design is the subversion* of legitimate 
government, and the inauguration of bloodshed and an- 
archy. I shall, this day, abandon the movement, and con- 
fine my associations to respectable society.” 

“I hope you do not think of leaving us, my lord?” 
asked Mrs. Reisan. 

“By no means. My impressions of Deboreh are most 
pleasant ; and I shall remain here for some time — perhaps 
may make it my future home. This determination would 
enable me to enjoy the company of the many friends I 
have made since my arrival in the city. There is no place 
on earth more congenial to me ; and I shall never forget 
the kindness of your people in condoning the indiscre- 
tions of my associations. They constantly warned me ; 
but I was too obstinate to accept their admonitions. They 
did not abandon me, but politely waited till time would 
reveal the character of my friends, and the perils to which 
I exposed my honor and reputation.” 

“I am delighted, my lord, that you have decided to 
grace Deboreh society with your accomplishments.” 

By this time the carriage had reached the Reisan man- 
sion, and the guest was conducted to the drawing-room 
by his charming hostess. 

At the hotel a number of people were discussing the 
justice of the sentence which the court had passed on 
young Isaac. Mr. Hellenmeyer said : 

“I would not believe that Gilhooley is guilty if all the 
angels would come down from their starry thrones and 
declare that they had seen him commit the crime. 

“By the way, Samuel,” said Mr. Beterman to the 
speaker, “what do you think of Mrs. Gehtheimer’s affir- 
mation in reference to the insincerity of the editors toward 
the Einstein family?” 

“That is an infernal lie, like everything else she said ! 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


179 


That woman would tell a lie when the truth would suit her 
purpose better. And old Reisan and Gehtheimer swear- 
ing that they heard Isaac and Abraham speak disrespect- 
fully of the Einstein girls ! Every one knows that it is a 
contemptible falsehood. Those young men would die for 
Miss Biddy and Miss Mary Ann.'' 

“Did you ever hear anything about Gilhooley’s moth- 
er?" questioned Beterman. 

“Why, she was an Engeddi girl, who married against 
her father's wishes, and was disinherited. Her husband 
lost his life in a shipwreck, and his widow and son went 
to live with the child’s grandmother at Meron. No, Gil- 
hooley's antecedents are unquestionable, and the McGilli- 
cuddys are the first people in Baron. But the character 
of their traducer would disgrace any public woman in the 
city." 

“Have you heard there is trouble in the Reisan 
home ?” 

“Yes, there has been some scandalous talk about that 
woman, and there is cause for all the ugly reports that 
have been circulating. It seems that Reisan has threat- 
ened to get a divorce from his wife or go away and aban- 
don her to the wiles of the Danish nobleman.” 


CHAPTER XX. 

“Good morning, Mr. Strauss!" 

“Good morning. How are you, Mr. Nieman?" 

“Mr. Strauss, did you read ‘The Flaming Sword' this 
week?" 

“No. I just arrived last night, and I have been so 
busy this morning I have not had time yet. I heard that 
McGillicuddy is going to continue the paper, and bid de- 
fiance to the host of hypocrites and knaves who have at- 
tempted to sully the character of the laboring class by 
bringing the leaders of the reform movement into disre- 
pute," 


i8o 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


'‘Don’t you think that this is a plot to destroy the So- 
cialist party?” 

“Why, of course it is; but the enemies of the people 
have miscalculated. It has won thousands, nay, millions, 
of friends for the persecuted editors, andf it would be 
hazardous for any man to criminate Isaac Gilhooley. Mc- 
Gillicuddy has received messages from all over the Re- 
public, encouraging the work, and offers to give financial 
assistance are so numerous that it is impossible to recog- 
nize them even by a note of thanks.” 

“McGillicuddy has ably exposed the motives of the 
conspirators, and he says that he will not rest until they 
are behind the iron bars.” 

“A sensation is in store for the public, and when it 
comes the triumph of justice will be the grandest ever 
recorded in history.” 

“Here is the paper, and, as I have an engagement at 
ten, I will leave you alone to read ; and be sure to notice 
the article on the national ownership of land and rail- 
roads.” 

Mr. Strauss took the paper and read the following 
communication ; 

“My advocacy of the common ownership of land has 
excited the ire of the Deboreh Herald ; and the editor of 
that journal launches his anathemas against the defend- 
ers of confiscation. I do not advocate confiscation, but 
nevertheless I hold that the adoption of that measure 
would involve no injustice. Society as a whole has 
created land values, and every individual of the common- 
wealth is entitled to the enjoyment of these values ; and 
we should not compensate any one for the possession 
of advantages which we have inherited as members of the 
body politic. Should the slave compensate his master for 
the gift of liberty ? Should not the slave be compensated 
for the years that he has toiled for the master? If the 
pirates of Tison despoiled commerce to the extent of ten 
million dollars annually, should their victims be com- 
pelled to purchase their immunity from further depreda- 
tions ? 

“It is admitted that all original titles in land were 
founded on robbery, but they have become legitimate by 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN i8l 

law. The settlers of Toadia drove the aborigines from 
their happy hunting-ground, and desecrated the graves 
of their sires. The pioneers have perished, and the creed 
they established on the shores of the New World, amidst 
scenes of blood that would tarnish the history of the 
rudest age, has been lost in the flight of time. The plant- 
ers of Nedad and the children of Moron and Lizan have 
passed away. The Asherites of Deboreh and the first 
immigrants to Jannace and Damascus are known no 
more. The colonists of Manasseh and Reuben, and the 
pioneers in New Gallilee and Rohab, have left only their 
language as a relic of the primeval history of the Israel- 
ite nations in the western hemisphere. New peoples 
have crossed the foaming billows, and now occupy the 
land of the pioneers. Immigrants from the shores of the 
Jamden and the Mehan, the Elbin and the Reinecan, the 
Meuran and the Woheil have sought an asylum in the 
land of the setting sun. Deprived of education and de- 
barred from the homes of culture and refinement by the 
lack of mental attainments, they came to our shores with 
only the gifts of nature to assist them in the struggle of 
life. They were the sons of toil, and their faces had been 
bronzed beneath the skies of the Old World. They landed- 
on our shores, and by thrift and industry they accumulate 
a fortune, which they invest in land, and now, says the 
Herald, would you confiscate their property? 

*Tf the original titles rest on theft, then all subsequent 
titles are equally worthless. Had these individuals not 
cast their lots under the palladium of society, they would 
never have accumulated fortunes. Let them go beyond 
the borders of civilization ; let them wander to the wilds 
of Nahad or to the interior of Arabia ; let them pitch their 
tents beneath the shadows of Lahan’s towering peaks, or 
on the snow-capped summits of the Himalcon ; let them' 
follow the footsteps of the savage to the depths of the 
Unknown Continent, and change the sands of Sohan into 
a garden of Eden ; and yet all the gold they may discover 
and all the lands they may possess, and all the treasures 
they may horde, will be worthless, for it is society that 
makes all these articles valuable. The human race owns 


i 82 


BEYOHD THE BLACK OCEAN 


the earth, and when an individual appropriates a portion 
to himself he is simply stealing from society. 

“Did the purchasers of the land endow it with its 
present value? No, the value of the land is the growth of 
society, it is the growth of the present and past genera- 
tions. Let us go back through the shadows of history. 
Let us recount the perils that beset the pioneers in the 
wilderness, the privations they endured in the early days, 
the blood that was shed and the lives that were sacrificed 
in the Scythian wars, in the revolution and in the suppres- 
sion of the rebellion. In the year 1800 the Declaration of 
Independence was adopted, and the knell of bondage 
echoed through the mountain dells and sombre forests of 
the western world. The roar of the cannon from the 
heights that environ Engeddi, ceased not to send forth 
its doleful music over hill and vale, till the Eagles waved 
in triumph above the banner of the Danish hosts from the 
citadels of the nation. Let us call up the spirits of the 
past to paint the agonies that were endured, the wounds 
that were received, the tortures that were borne from the 
day that the Didon was anchored at Engeddi, till the fall 
of Meron and the destruction of the Confederacy, and 
this is the price of the land which individuals have appro- 
priated. 

“Not only land, but every other possession, is equally 
the product of society. We are the heirs of all the buried 
ages, and there is not a tool or a machine which we use 
that can be claimed by any individual. The vast im- 
provements in productive powers which characterize this 
age are the result of thousands of years of a slowly ad- 
vancing civilization. They are the heritage of the human 
race, and they should belong to society. Did any partic- 
ular individual discover the power of steam and elec- 
tricity ? Are we indebted to any particular man for rail- 
roads ? These are all the products of society and should 
be owned by society. But they are owned by individuals 
for the spoliation of society. 

“The railroads of this country are capitalized at twelve 
billions of dollars, and they cost, for construction and 
equipment, much less than four billions. Whenever a 
railway is contemplated, a company is formed, the grounds 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


183 


are surveyed, and the movement is advertised in every 
county and city and hamlet along the route. The press 
is subsidized to expatiate on the advantages of transpor- 
tation facilities, and the community is encouraged to show 
its appreciation of the benefits to be realized and its spirit 
of progression, by a liberal donation in money, land sites 
for depots and sidings for freight cars. The road, we will 
presume, can be built and equipped for twenty thousand 
dollars per mile. The company will immediately capital- 
ize the stock at fifty thousand dollars per mile. They buy 
the bonds which are represented by the real value of the 
road. They issue stocks to the extent of thirty thousand 
dollars per mile, and with this money they build and equip 
the road. Not one dollar has been expended by the com- 
pany so far, and, moreover, they have on every mile ten 
thousand dollars to their credit. The road is in operation 
a few years ; its value is again capitalized, perhaps to the 
extent of one hundred thousand dollars per mile; and 
stocks to that amount are issued, and the company is- 
again enriched by fifty thousand dollars on every mile 
of the line. The Deboreh Central and Lovrek River Road 
in 1831 was capitalized at forty-five millions of dollars, 
and since then its capitalization has reached one hundred 
and forty-six millions. In 1854 the total earnings of this 
road were thirty millions, leaving sixteen millions' in 
profits. When the stock has been watered to such an ex- 
tent that the road will not pay interest on the bonds, the 
road goes into the hands of a receiver, and the company 
expends the total income in making improvements. In 
the meantime the stockholders throw their papers on the 
market, and they are purchased by the company at ten 
per cent. When all the claims have been secured the road 
begins to realize profits, and the company asks that it be 
sold. No other company can afford to bid against the 
present company, for this company is armed with paper 
which was purchased at ten per cent, but which is accept- 
ed at par in payment of the road’s indebtedness. As soon 
as the road is secured, it begins to yield large dividends 
and the company again capitalizes it at treble its value, 
and this process is continued until the road is wrecked 
again. This is the history of railroads in Toadia. Instead 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


184 

of paying ten per cent dividends the roads are paying 
fifty and sometimes one hundred per cent dividends on 
the values represented. This robbery, borne by the em- 
ployes and patrons on one side, and innocent purchasers 
of watered stock on the other, is rapidly creating kings 
and paupers. If the evil is not destroyed, Toadia will be- 
come a land of masters and slaves. 

“Different estimates have been given of the cost of 
building one mile of railroad. Governor Naasen states 
that twenty-five thousand dollars is the outside figure, and 
all authorities support this opinion. In this estimate 
every possible item of expense is enumerated. General 
Rohob gives the cost at sixteen thousand dollars, and he 
mentions the Jordan Valley Road, which cost eight thou- 
sand dollars per mile, and the Lebanon Mountain Road, 
which cost but seven thousand three hundred dollars per 
mile. The six Moabite railways were built and equipped 
at the cost of ninety-six millions of dollars, and to-day 
they are capitalized at tw'O hundred and seventy million 
dollars. These roads were built by the public. The gov- 
ernment gave them, in land and other gratuities, four hun- 
dred and fifty million dollars, besides the enormous sums 
that have been subscribed by States, cities and counties. 
The government granted to the Union Moabitic Railroad 
twelve thousand eight hundred acres of land in the west, 
besides a gift of sixteen thousand dollars per mile, which 
made the total subsidy fifty-four thousand dollars per 
mile. This sum was twice the amount for building and 
equipping the road, and hence the road should belong to 
the government. 

“The Union Moabitic Railroad, which cost less than 
forty million dollars, was capitalized at one hundred and 
ten millions. The Central Moabitic and Western Moab- 
itic were built for forty million dollars, and stocks were 
issued amounting to one hundred and twenty-five mil- 
lions. Is it any surprise that millionaires and paupers 
are begotten under such a system? Wealth is concen- 
trating in the hands of the few, and the nation is sacrific- 
ing its toil and sweat to fill the coffers of those who have 
control of our transportation and industries. 

“The railroad magnates have corrupted our legisla- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


185 


tures and bribed Congress. They spend their money at 
the polls to secure the election of pliant tools. In the year 
1838 more than one million was spent by the Jordan Val- 
ley Road to swell the corruption fund. Mr. Vanhorn 
boasted that he spent sixty thousand dollars in one day 
to influence the Legislature to pass a law that would pro- 
mote the interests of the Jordan Valley Road. There is 
not a legislature in the Republic of Toadia that is inde- 
pendent of railroad influence. They are subservient to 
the will of the rail king, and they sell the blood of the na- 
tion for paltry gold. 

*‘The railroads have unjustly discriminated against 
some persons to the advantage of others. It was proved 
in court that the Leddi Coal Company and many other 
shippers were ruined in this manner. This company held 
a contract with a company for cars, which were refused 
because, by want of transportation, this company was 
compelled to sell its engagements to the Obind company, 
which was represented by some of the road officials, and 
more than sixty thousand cars were furnished to the lat- 
ter. More than ninety-five per cent of the anthracite coal 
of Toadia has passed in-to the ownership of railroads. 
The railroad syndicates have purchased all the bitumin*- 
ous coal fields between the Abrahamic and Moabitic 
waters. Private companies were necessitated to sell their 
mines to the railroads, because they were ruined by dis- 
crimination. To-day we have the gigantic coal trust, and 
the people of this country are at the mercy of the railroad 
kings. Previous to the formation of trusts, the coal mines 
of the east were capable of producing one hundred million 
tons annually, but were restricted by the railroads to eight 
millions. This was done throughout the country, and the 
motive was to create a demand for coal by limiting the 
supply, and thus advance the price. 

*Tn the year 1842 the railroads advanced the price of 
coal a dollar and thirty-five cents per ton. Rebates are 
allowed to some companies to the detriment of others. In 
1848 the national oil company received in* rebates in one 
State the sum of ten millions of dollars. One railroad 
charged this company but ten cents per barrel, whereas 
it charged every other company thirty-five cents per bar- 


BEYOND THE BLACK. OCEAN 


1 86 

rel, twenty-five cents of which was turned over to the na- 
tional oil company. The rates charged the central com- 
pany were from one hundred to three hundred per cent 
higher. We have numerous instances on record where 
railroads have refused to stop the trains in certain towns, 
but built their depots two or three miles beyond, to force 
the people to move to that locality to enhance the value 
of the land ; and, thus, thriving towns have been depopu- 
lated and ruined to augment the wealth of private cor- 
porations. The railroads have also refused to run through 
certain towns, because these towns would not pay the re- 
quired subsidies. The rates for flour and wheat are the 
same for eighty as for four hundred miles ; coarse grain 
twice as much as flour. 

“The pass system is another system that should be 
abolished. This would amount to millions of dollars an- 
nually. The competition for every passenger between 
the Abrahamic and Moabitic waters amounts to twenty 
dollars. 

“What is the remedy for these evils? The national 
ownership of the railroads. The national ownership of 
the railroads would save the people of Toadia, in curtail- 
ment of useless expenditures, at least seven hundred and 
forty-five millions annually. People admit that these 
abuses are perpetrated on them, but they claim that the 
government cannot manage these enterprises, and the 
condition of affairs would be worse if the railroads were 
nationalized. I will show these incredulous individuals 
that the government ownership of railroads has been a 
grand success by citing examples where it is a reality. If 
low rates and advanced wages for the employes constitute 
a criterion of the ability to conduct business,! will give suf- 
ficient illustrations to demonstrate the utiliity of govern- 
ment ownership. New Media built and operates twenty- 
two hundred miles of railroad. The six thousand em- 
ployes have an eight-hour working day, with a half holi- 
day every week, and six holidays in the year, and they re- 
ceive thirty per cent higher wages than railroad employes 
in Toadia; passenger rates are one-third of a cent per 
mile, and the government realizes two million five hun- 
dred thousand dollars, after paying all expenses. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


187 


“Zabulon owns her railways, which are built most 
substantially, with the best equipment and service, so that 
an accident is impossible. These roads cost eighty-three 
thousand dollars per mile. In 1850 statistics show that 
these roads realized in profits one hundred and twenty 
millions of dollars. The average passenger fare is one 
and one-sixth of a cent per mile. The fare by means of 
commutation tickets is one-fourth of a cent per mile. 
The profits on the roads was one hundred and twenty 
million dollars in 1850. The income from passengers was 
eighty-five millions of dollars, and from freight thirty-five 
millions. Hence the Zabulon roads could have carried 
its four hundred and seventy millions of passengers free, 
and yet have had an income of thirty-five million dollars. 
From 1850 to 1856 the net profits increased forty-one per 
cent, and the wages of the employes was one hundred and 
twenty per cent higher than the wages paid by private 
companies. Had the government built her roads, saving 
the profits on construction and the interest on bonds, it 
could have reduced freight rates one-half, carried pas- 
sengers free, advanced wages one hundred dollars per 
annum, and had sufficient left to pay other expenses. 

‘'Our companies compare the wages paid to employes 
in Zabulon and this country. This is not a fair compari- 
son. Let them compare the wages on the roads operated 
by the government and private companies in the same 
country. The Zabulon roads employ thirteen men to the 
mile, whereas our roads have but four men to the mile, 
and therefore for the same amount of work higher wages 
is paid by the former than by the latter. 

“The roads of Nepthali cost ninety-four thousand 
dollars per mile. The government employs eleven men 
on every mile of the road. The total income, during the 
year 1856, was one hundred and eight million dollars, and 
the total expenses was fifty-eight million, leaving a residue 
of fifty millions. Eight million dollars were paid in sick 
benefits and in pensions to aged and disabled employes. 
The fare is one-third of a cent per mile ; but for laborers 
and agriculturists traveling in parties of thirty, the rate is 
one-sixth of a cent per mile. For many years the zone 
system has been in operation. The capital is taken as the 


i88 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


center, and the first zone is thirteen and a half miles, and 
every succeeding zone is seven and a half miles longer, 
with the exception of the twelfth and thirteenth zone, 
which are thirteen and a half miles, and the fourteenth 
zone includes all distances within the empire. Tickets 
for every zone are proportionately cheaper than the pre- 
ceding zone, owing to the fact that each zone is longer 
than the one preceding/^ 


CHAPTER XXL 

“Lucile, here comes Lord Jesse. Perhaps he wishes 
to take you riding this morning. Now don't refuse to go 
with him. You must get over the idea that there is no 
other man in the world like Teddy Einstein. I do not 
gainsay the fact that Teddy was a nice boy, but what was 
he compared to your aristocratic admirer? A man in 
whose veins runs the blood of kings ! I am going down 
to meet him. Just look at him, Lucile! Is he not the 
grandest man you ever gazed upon ? Look at his noble 
carriage and his handsome face !” 

“Mother, he may be all you say, but I can never love 
him as I loved Teddy." 

“Love! You little- impertinent girl! you contempti- 
ble wight ! Never mention love to me again ! You have 
been indulging in romance. Will love put you in noble 
society? Why, I never thought of love when I married 
Mr. Gehtheimer, and I am sure it was the last consider- 
ation with him." 

During the discussion Mrs. Gehtheimer forgot to ad- 
vance to meet the nobleman, and Lord Jesse having 
reached the residence, was ushered into the parlor. 

“Good morning. Lord Jesse," said Mrs. Gehtheimer. 

“Good morning, Mrs. Gehtheimer," responded he. 
“Good morning. Miss Lucile. Did you hear the news, 
ladies ?" 


BEYOND TEE BLACK OCEAN 


189 


‘‘No,” said Mrs. Gehtheimer, “what is it?” 

“Gilhooley escaped from jail last night.” 

“Escaped from jail!” exclaimed Mrs. Gehtheimer. 
“How?” 

“He succeeded in removing a stone from his cell, and, 
of course, after that, all was easy. This gave him an open- 
ing into the jail yard, and he managed to climb the wall. 
It is presumed, by some, that he was assisted by his 
friends. Perhaps they provided him with ropes, and by 
throwing them over the wall they accomplished his re- 
lease from the yard.” 

“Have they any clue to his place of hiding?” 

“Many conjectures are offered. At first the officers 
searched the residences along Benjamin Street, where he 
has many ardent admirers, but their efforts were futile.” 

“I hope the villain will not escape 1” exclaimed Mrs. 
Gehtheimer. “He was to be hanged next Thursday. Oh, 
they may capture him before then I I think that Mr. Mc- 
Gillicuddy had something to do with it. What do you 
think?” 

“Why, I have not the slightest hesitancy in pronounc- 
ing that opinion. The authorities should apprehend that 
scoundrel immediately, and if he does not confess his 
crime, execute him at once without the verdict of judge 
or jury.” 

“The citizens of Deboreh should take the law in their 
own hands, and mete out speedy punishment to the 
wretch. If those two men are allowed to live, there will 
be a revolution in this country before many years,” said 
Mrs. Gehtheimer. . 

“A revolution?” repeated Lord Jesse. “There is a 
revolution coming now. The laborers are arming them- 
selves, and they may rise up against the government at 
any moment.” 

“Why, here comes Mrs. Reisan, mother,” interrupted 
Lucile, whose chair gave her a full view of the gateway. 

Lord Jesse went quickly to the carriage to meet Mrs. 
Reisan, and during his absence, Mrs. Gehtheimer held a 
little colloquy with her daughter. 

“Just look at that married woman ! how fond she is of 
Lord Jesse, and here you are crying over the loss of a 


190 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


common man, who had not a drop of noble blood iii his 
veins, when you could easily become the wife of a lord. I 
wish I were a young girl. I would show you what I could 
do r 

“Indeed, mother, I wish you were a girl,” said the sad 
Lucile, “for then I should not be annoyed by your im- 
portunities.” 

“O, Mrs. Gehtheimer ! is that not awful news that we 
have had this morning ! Is it possible that the assassin of 
Teddy Einstein will escape the gallows?” exclaimed Mrs. 
Reisan, who had now reached the hallway. 

“Don’t be afraid, Mrs. Reisan, he will be captured, 
and the people in their frenzy will hang the two murder- 
ers and traitors to the one tree. The Toadians are not 
disposed to be ruled by that anarchistic element repre- 
sented by the editors of ‘The Flaming Sword.’ Too long 
have we been tormented by the presence of firebrands 
in our society, and our endurance being overtaxed, will 
rebound with a force that will crush every rebel in the 
land.” Mrs. Gehtheimer delivered this opinion as if she 
were an oracle. 

“After all, Mrs. Gehtheimer, perhaps this is merely an 
act of Divine Providence to arouse the people to assert 
their rights, and correct the error of the judicial bench in 
acquitting McGillicuddy. I really believe that both men 
will now suffer the penalty of death. What is your opin- 
ion, Lord Jesse?” and as Mrs. Reisan asked the question, 
she turned toward the admiring nobleman. 

“I agree with you and Mrs. Gehtheimer,” said he. 
“But I have an engagement at ten o’clock, and I must now 
take my leave of you ladies.” 

“Wait, my lord,” said Mrs. Reisan, “I am going down 
to the city, and I will take you in my carriage.” 

“Thank you very much, Mrs. Reisan,” said Lord 
Jesse. 

“Have a care that Mr. Reisan does not get jealous,” 
said Mrs. Gehtheimer, laughingly, but with malice in her 
heart. 

“Oh, no danger of that,” replied Mrs. Reisan, sweetly. 
“He has appointed Lord Jesse my cavalier during his ab- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


I9I 

sence. Did I tell you that Mr. Reisan has gone to Ked- 
ron? He left last night.” 

“How long will he be gone?” inquired Mrs. Gehthei- 
mer. 

“Several months,” replied her friend. “He is looking 
after his business interests in the district of Hai, and his 
engagements will detain him the^-e until after the New 
Year.” 

Lord Jesse assisted Mrs. Reisan to enter the car- 
riage, then took a seat by her side, and the coachman 
drove away, leaving the old dame to quarrel with her 
daughter over the success of her matronly companion. 

“It will not be long, Lucile, until your opportunities 
are forever ruined. That woman is desperately fond of 
Lord Jesse, and her husband is jealous of him. I am sat- 
isfied that Reisan has left in disgust, and perhaps will 
seek a divorce. The public are looking for a grave scan- 
dal from the intimacy of that pair. If Reisan had any 
manhood he would long ago have prevented this ridicu- 
lous flirtation.” 

“Do you consider it criminal, mother, for Mrs. Reisan 
to solicit the attentions of Lord Jesse?” asked the girl. 

“Of course it is criminal,” replied the virtuous mother. 

“In that case the conduct of Lord Jesse is also crim- 
inal, for he should ignore her smiles. I am surprised 
that you should encourage your daughter to marry a man 
who wittingly invades the sanctity of another man’s home, 
to alienate the affection of his wife and destroy his do- 
mestic bliss.” 

“Lord Jesse is not cognizant of any wrong, for he is 
wholly unacquainted with our social customs,” replied 
Mrs. Gehtheimer, “and if he knew the impropriety of his 
conduct he would immediately discourage the attentions 
of Mrs. Reisan. Did you not see this morning how he 
endeavored to avoid her society? But when he signified 
his intention of leaving, she forthwith proposed to ac- 
company him ? Could he eschew her without displaying 
his displeasure? And Lord Jesse is such a cultivated 
gentleman that he would suffer an imposition before he 
would wound the feelings of any woman. I consider Lord 
Jesse the pink of perfection, and I would give my life to 


192 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


see Lucile Gehtheimer led to the altar by that noble Dan- 
ite. I have decided that you shall become Lady Jesse, 
whether you are pleased or displeased. You will not dic- 
tate to your mother. I have given you my advice, Miss, 
and if you dare disobey me, I will drive you from my 
home, and let you wander as an outcast all your life. That 
will do now. You may go to your room.” 

The next afternoon the newsboys were crying up and 
down the street : “Here’s the Daily Mail ! Isaac Gilhooley 
shot and burned to death in a barn !” The people eagerly 
bought the paper, which contained the following account 
of the tragic event : “The large barn and warehouse on the 
Obias farm, one mile from the city limits, was burned to 
the ground last night between eleven and twelve o’clock, 
and the remains of a man, since identified as the body of 
Isaac Gilhooley, were found among the ashes. The pris- 
oner was seen last night going down Twenty^second. 
Street toward the railroad. The police were notified, and 
they followed in hot pursuit. Near the southern shops 
they saw the retreating figure, and fired several times, 
though the fugitive from justice did not halt, but ran on 
through the alley beyond the shops and escaped. It is 
supposed that the shots took effect, and that Gilhooley 
wandered on until he reached the barn, where he took 
refuge. It is supposed that, as he realized the hopeless- 
ness of recovery or ultimate escape from the officers of 
the law, in his desperation he burned the barn and per- 
ished in the flames. 

“Isaac Gilhooley was a man who would shrink from 
no sacrifice to defeat his enemies, and before he would as- 
cend the scaffold to atofie for the murder of Teddy Ein- 
stein, and be insulted by the gibe and taunt of the multi- 
tude, he chose to take his own life. The body was almost 
consumed by the flames, and the remainder burned to a 
crisp, so that identification was impossible. More than 
twenty witnesses testified that the size of the skeleton 
would lead them to believe that it was the remains of Isaac 
Gilhooley. Besides, the measurements of the skull cor- 
responded with the prisoner’s head. There was one tooth 
filled with gold in front, and one on the left side of the 
mouth, and this is another clue to identification. But the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


193 


most convincing proof was furnished in a silver match- 
case, with the initials ‘LG.’ In fact, identification is so 
complete that his friends have claimed the skeleton, and it 
will be shipped to-night over the Central road to his moth- 
er’s home in Meron. 

“Thus has ended a life of vast promise. Gilhooley was 
a man of eminent talents, but he inherited from his father 
a romantic disposition, and he began to dream, in his 
early youth, of establishing an empire of brotherly love. 
The impression which the social disparities of our civiliza- 
tion made on his fervid imagination, was indelible, and he 
utilized his great brain to eradicate the evils of the age. His 
first attempt toward reformation attracted the attention of 
every thinker in the nation, and he was so persistent in the 
justice of his cause, that he disregarded the admonition of 
the faculty in the University of Meron, and was expelled 
for his pertinacity in defending dangerous doctrines. He 
came to Deboreh, where, with the co-operation of his 
friend, McGillicuddy, he established ‘The Flaming 
Sword,’ which has become, under their management, the 
most famous journal in Toadia.” 


CHAPTER XXH. 

Ezechias Rosenberger sat in his library musing Over 
the events of the day. 

“It was a great mistake that the court did not pass 
sentence of death on McGillicuddy for complicity in the 
murder of Teddy Einstein. Gilhooley is now in hell, 
where he will meet his match in the devil. It is the first 
time in his existence that he has been fairly mated, and I 
really believe that he will conquer the very Prince of Dark- 
ness. If we had daily communication with the Infernal 
Regions, no doubt we should have been informed, ere this, 
of riots and carnage as tho result of Gilhooley’s natural!- . 
zation in that kingdom. But McGillicuddy is just as dan- 
gerous, and this country will not be safe till he joins his 


194 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


companion in Hades. I thought the tragedy that ended 
Gilhooley’s career as a journalist, would, also, terminate 
the existence of ‘The Flaming Sword,’ but that damnable 
sheet not only lives, but is growing bolder and more ag- 
gressive, and seems to have lost all respect for the laws 
of the country.” 

His musings were interrupted by a knock on the door, 
and in answer to his “Come in !” a servant entered with 
the announcement that Judge Tischandorf had called. 

“Show him up,” commanded the master. 

“Good morning. Judge,” said Mr. Rosenberger, as his 
visitor entered. “How are you this fine morning?” 

“I am well, thank you, Mr. Rosenberger, and I hope 
to find you in the enjoyment of perfect health?” 

“Perfect health?” repeated he. “How could I be in 
perfect health when I see the clouds of a mighty storm 
gathering on our western horizon, and hear the thunder 
cf revolution echoing among the distant mountains, and 
the chariot of Mars rattling in the skies !” 

“Why are you dreaming, man ?” What do you mean 
by these dire portents ? Have the gods foretold impend- 
ing disaster?” 

“Are you blind. Judge? Do you not see that the 
welkin is clothed with ominous indications, and hear the 
howl of the war-dogs resounding through the land ? Be- 
fore the cyclone sweeps down from the clouds, the at- 
mosphere is surcharged with deadly bolts, and all nature 
feels the w^ght of forces which seek release from pres- 
sure. The cattle in the fields are instinctively warned of 
their peril. Their lowing prognosticates the march of 
the gale. The fowl of the air fly to safe retreats, and every 
living creature displays an anxiety that something of a 
terrific nature is brewing. The silence is oppressive. The 
clouds are growing blacker. The lightning begins to 
flash and blaze in the heavens. The thunder rolls and the 
day darkens into the shadows of evening, and finally the 
fury of the elements bursts forth and pours out its mad 
rage upon the earth, and desolation marks the progress of 
the storm. For the past five years I have been watching 
the signs of the times, and I have every reason to fear for 
the future. Anarchistic literature has been widely dis- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


195 


seminated throughout the country. Socialistic clubs have 
been formed. The laboring classes are inspired with the 
idea that they have created the wealth of the earth, and 
that they have been robbed of the fruit of their toil by 
capitalists and employers. And ‘The Flaming Sword’ 
has utilized these sentiments to inflame the passions of 
the multitude, and to feed the fire of revolt and create the 
conflagration of anarchy and revolution. Let me read to 
you from the latest number of that journal an article on 
national ownership. Of course you have seen its atti- 
tude on this question in previous issues ?” 

“Yes, I have been following the course of that paper, 
and I agree with you that it is a leaven of iniquity in our 
nation, and it is rapidly undermining the pillars of the 
Republic.” 

“Here is the contribution to which I refer : ‘Asher is a 
small country of thirteen thousand square miles, and has 
a population of five millions. It has nineteen hundred 
miles of railroad, of which the government owns and op- 
erates ten hundred miles. The national railways trans- 
port five-sevenths of the freight and two-thirds of the pas- 
sengers. The government gives its employes houses from 
ten to twenty per cent cheaper than the same houses could 
be rented from private individuals, and, besides, it pro- 
vides them with fuel without compensation. The state 
employs the widows and orphans of the operatives, in 
making clothing and blankets for the families of the em- 
ployes. The government also has a sick and pension 
fund for the employes, and when the men in its service 
have reached sixty-five years of age, though they may be 
in the enjoyment of perfect health, they are comfortably 
supported during the remainder of their days. 

“ ‘Parsia is one of the wealthiest countries on earth 
for its size, and the masses of her people enjoy more com- 
forts and advantages than the people of any other nation, 
and this is due to the national ownership of her most im- 
portant enterprises. The state owns and operates three 
thousand miles of railroad. She did not, like Toadia, give 
large tracts of land and subsidies in money to private cor- 
porations to build her roads. Although wages is thirty- 
five per cent higher than in this country, and the roads. 


196 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


cost double the sum of our roads, for they are built much 
better, and the rates are only one-sixth of our rates, yet 
the government has already realized profits sufficient to 
pay every dollar of debt contracted in making her rail- 
roads, and is now in a position to double the wages of 
employes and reduce rates fifty per cent. 

“ ‘In Zabulon, railroads sell annual tickets, good for 
five miles in and out of the city, for four dollars and a half. 
If a person goes in and out every day, the distance will be 
three thousand six hundred and fifty miles, and if he 
goes twice every day, it is seven thousand three hundred, 
all for the insignificant sum of four dollars and fifty cents, 
which is less than one-sixteenth of a cent per mile, or six- 
teen miles for one cent. ' 

“ ‘A four-track road can be built for fifteen thousand 
dollars per mile for each track, but we will add to this 
sum five thousand dollars, which is a very liberal esti- 
mate. The distance from Engeddi to Sohonan is three 
thousand four hundred and fifty miles, and a four-track 
road would make a total of thirteen thousand eight hun- 
dred miles, and to this add one thousand two hundred 
miles for siding, and we have fifteen thousand miles. The 
total cost of constructing this would be three hundred mil- 
lion dollars. The expense of operating the road would 
be, for repairs, thirty million ; the wages of one hundred 
and fifty thousand men, at four dollars per day, for eight 
hours’ work, and three hundred and fifty days in the year, 
would amount to two hundred and nineteen million dol- 
lars. This would give ten men for every mile of road, 
more than double the number now employed. The cost 
of fuel and oil and other incidentals would not exceed 
ten millions annually. The total expense, including re- 
pairs, etc., would amount to two hundred and fifty-nine 
millions annually. 

“ ‘The charge of transporting a ton of freight one hun- 
dred miles is now about one dollar. If we reduce this cost 
to twenty-five cents per ton, our business will be enor- 
mously increased. We could have one hundred and fifty 
thousand freight cars on this line. If they average fifteen 
tons to the car, we would move two million, two hundred 
and fifty thousand tons of freight ten miles every day, 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


197 


which would realize in profits five hundred and sixty-two 
thousand dollars every day; and during three hundred 
and fifty days, which is less than a year, our income from 
this source would be one hundred and ninety-five million 
dollars. Let us reduce passenger rates and traveling 
would be enormously increased. If we charge three cents 
for every hundred miles, br one dollar to cross the con- 
tinent, at the very lowest estimate, we could depend on 
having one hundred and fifty million passengers, and this 
would create an income of one hundred and fifty million 
dollars. It is more than possible that our list would ex- 
ceed three hundred million; but even presuming there 
would be only half that number, the total profits from 
freight and passenger rates would be three hundred and 
forty million. Add to this sum fourteen millions from the 
express business, and we have a total income of three 
hundred and fifty-four millions, which gives us a balance 
of ninety-six millions. In less than four years the profits 
would pay for the constructing of the entire line of fifteen 
thousand miles, and we could afford to carry the mail free 
of charge. 

“ ‘In Lybia the government owns two thousand, nine 
hundred and three miles of road, and the profits realized 
last year was five millions, which was sufficient to pay all 
the national expenses. With a population of one million, 
one hundred and forty thousand, four hundred and 
twenty, the road carried nine millions of passengers. This 
is ample evidence that low rates encourage traveling. We 
have seventy millions of inhabitants in this country, and if 
our traveling would increase in the same ratio as in other 
countries with low rates, we would have at least four hun- 
dred million passengers annually. 

“ ‘Larosh, with a population of six hundred thousand, 
owns four hundred miles of railroad, which netted, in 
1854, the sum of nine hundred thousand dollars. Somold 
owns six thousand, nine hundred miles of road, and the 
net returns is twenty-five millions annually. All private 
roads escheat to the government after a specified period of 
time. In Simeon private corporations own nearly all the 
roads, but with the stipulation that they become state 
property after ninety-nine years ; and during this time 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


198 

they carry the mails and goyernment officials free, and 
also pay forty per cent of the profits to the state. The 
nation also owns four hundred miles of road which it op- 
erates. 

“ Tf we compare the number of accidents on the roads 
owned by the government with those in our own land, we 
find that the fatalities on the latter are six times as many, 
and injuries nine times as many, as on the former. This 
' proves, in the first place, the solicitude on the part of the 
national roads for the safety of passengers and employes. 
The services, the speed, the accommodations on national 
railroads, are superior to those operated by private com- 
panies. It has been estimated by competent authorities 
that the government ownership of our roads would save 
the country eight hundred millions annually. Now, where 
does this money go. It is wasted in the struggle for busi- 
ness, for advertising, corrupting our Legislatures and in 
bribing the Senate and Congress of Toadia. And who 
pays for the waste? The patrons and employes of the 
road. 

“ 'But some one will rebut this objection by the state- 
ment that the money wasted in advertising helps the 
printer, and, hence, is usefully employed. Whatever fails 
to produce is wasted. Now the printing of books and 
posters and pamphlets for increasing trade does not pro- 
duce, and therefore it is money cast into the sea. If, for 
my amusement, I engage a minstrel show for the season, 
and compensate the actors with money, I am giving them 
the product of labor, and therefore the laborers of the 
nation suffer the loss, or, in other words, they are pay- 
ing to keep me in useless luxuries. If the printers were 
not employed in useless occupations they would become 
producers, and their labor would enhance the wealth of 
the world. The national ownership of railroads is the 
only remedy for the evil. 

" 'But would not this interfere with personal liberty? 
By no means, for I do not advocate the confiscation of 
roads, although in justice such a measure should be 
adopted, for the public, in excessive rates and low wages, 
have paid for the railroads every three years. A road that 
is watered to five times its real value, and pays a dividend 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


199 


of eight per cent annually, is paying forty per cent divi- 
dends on the real value, and in two and one-half years the 
income suffices to build and equip the line. Some of our 
roads are watered more than this amount ; and some roads 
that cost but twenty millions are capitalized at one hun- 
dred and fifty millions. Since these corporations have 
been robbing the public for thirty or forty years, the gov- 
ernment would be justified in seeking indemnification by 
having recourse to radical measures, and pass an act for 
their confiscation. 

“ ‘But I am opposed to the employment of violent 
methods, and I would advocate the wisdom of purchas- 
ing the lines from the corporations. If the road is valued 
at twenty millions, let the government make an offer 
of that sum to the company, and, in case of refusal, impose 
a franchise tax, equal to the tax levied on other property. 
If the road asks one hundred million and the government 
tax is one per cent, I would charge them the same on the 
capitalized stock, and this would create an annual income 
from the Toadian railways of one hundred and twenty 
millions. Moreover, I would build lines in opposition 
to the private lines, reduce freight tonnage to one-fourth 
of a cent per mile, and double wages, and the private 
roads would soon pass out of existence. After the roads 
have realized a sum in profits sufficient to compensate for 
their construction, which would require but a period of 
four years, I would make another reduction in rates of at 
least fifty per cent, and again double wages.’ 

“Now, Judge, what do you think of that damnable ar- 
ticle?” asked Mr. Rosenberger, laying down the paper. 

“Why, it is simply horrible !” cried his listener. “That 
fellow should be shot !” 

“Shot! Shot!” repeated the angry old man. “He 
should be burned at the stake ! Oh ! I wish I had him in 
my power ! I would put him where roads are out of the 
question. That man should be taken out to the public 
square and lashed till he fell beneath the strokes. What 
would you do if the government should take possession of 
the roads ? Could you live in a palace ? Could you keep 
a retinue of servants with your income? Could I afford 
to send several millions to my son-in-law every year? 


200 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


Could my daughter afford to reign the society queen of 
Danish aristocracy? Could she afford to entertain the 
nobility of New Israel in her princely castle? Why, then 
we would have no millionaires. What could we do with 
five per cent dividends on our investments ? Ah ! menials, 
you would aspire to equality with your masters ! Our 
schemes have, hitherto, been failures, but the day of vic- 
tory is not far distant. Already the sun of royalty is send- 
ing his faint rays across the ocean waves, and they are 
gilding the foaming surge with golden hues. Before an- 
other decade the hopes of the proletaire will be forever 
blasted. Armed soldiers will walk this land, and purple 
robes will grace the mansion of the Chief Executive, and 
the jewels will glisten in the diadem of a Toadian mon- 
arch, whose scepter will wave, and' mailed hosts will obey, 
and cowards will shrink, and slaves will crouch, and noble 
families can live in peace and joy, and fear not the flames 
of the incendiary or the assassin’s dagger.” 

“There is no doubt but your visions will be realized in 
less than a decade,” commented the Judge. “Already we 
have imperialism under a fictitious' name. Heron will 
soon be subjected, and the soldiers fighting for the empire 
of the Eagles in the distant isles of the Moabitic sea, can 
be recalled to defend the glory of the flag against the 
machinations of domestic foes. We must make imperial- 
ism and trusts the planks in our platform. By subsidizing 
the press we can easily convert the public to our views on 
these questions. The Toadian people are very susceptible 
to bombast about the glory of the flag. The poor devils im- 
agine that the flag is everything, and it is easy to convince 
them that the extension of our dominions will redound 
to the wealth of our land, and the triumph- of our nation. 
It is hard to deceive a phlegmatic race with vain gascon- 
ade, but men of quick impulses can be cajoled without any 
difficulty. 

“Imperialism will go down all right. In fact, the press 
•has already accomplished the victory, and if the election 
were to occur to-morrow, we would carry the country. 
Now the trusts can drop in their prices when the cam- 
paign is on, and we can proudly refer to the benefits of 
vast comporations in the facilities of production, and the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


201 


cheapness of commodities. As a reason for the advanced 
prices of the last year or two, we can allege the expenses 
incurred by our new departure, as all young enterprises 
labor under difficulties in dieir infancy. We can promise 
to make a reduction every month as a result of our in- 
creased efficiencies in production and increased facilities 
in trade, and, as a warranty of this pledge, we will actually 
fall in our prices up to the day of election. Then we will 
roll in on the biggest majority we have ever had. As soon 
as our party is in power, of course, we will make up for 
losses and fleece the suckers for the next four years.” 

“What do you think of the forces of the Social Dem- 
ocratic party?” 

“They have clubs all over the country, but they will 
not be known when the election comes.” 

“You think that Social Democracy is not a factor to 
be considered in the coming campaign ?” 

“They will not poll half a million votes, and that will 
be an advantage to us, for they will draw their resources 
from the Liberal Party.” 

“What about the Socialist Labor Party ?” 

“Well, the Socialist Labor party will not affiliate with 
Social Democracy, and their power will be lost. These 
reform parties could possibly give us a little trouble, if 
they were all united ; but where there is no union there is 
no strength, and the more the parties are multiplied the 
better for our cause. By the way, Mr. Rosenberger,” 
the Judge broke off, “I see that Guisman has departed 
for Dan.” 

“Is that so? When?” 

“He sailed last Monday on the Bethlehem.” 

“The scoundrel ! He has not completed his work.” 

“Did you pay him the required sum ?” 

“By no means ! He was here about ten days ago, and 
pleaded with me for one hundred thousand dollars, but I 
told him that he had not yet complied with the provisions 
of the contract, and I would not recognize his claims until 
he would.” 

“What did he say?” 

“He stated that the end was not far off, and what he 
had done would lead to a crisis, as the public would soon 


202 


BEYOND THE liLRCK OCEAN 


take the matter in their own hands. I think that Guisman 
is intimidated, and that is the reason for his sudden de- 
parture. Why, you are not going so early, Judge?” 

“Yes, I have an engagement this forenoon, and I must 
leave for the present, but I will call to-morrow evening 
and discuss the question thoroughly.” 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

On the 1 2th day of June, 1859, a stranger alighted 
from the Lidda and Deboreh train as it reached the Un- 
ion station in Meron. His face was furrowed with wrin- 
kles, and his brow was marked with sorrow. His hair 
was white, and his form was slightly bent, though there 
was a dignity in his bearing and a stateliness in his move- 
ments that attracted the gaze of those who usually appear 
in public places for the sake of passing the tedious hours. 
The old man accosted a public officer, and inquired about 
Mrs. Gilhooley. In response to his question, the officer 
replied : 

Mrs. Gilhooley lives on High Street, between Twen- 
ty-second and Twenty-third Streets. If you take the Edne 
Grove car, you can pass by the house. You mean Isaac 
Gilhooley’s mother, don’t you?” 

At mention of the name the old man started. 

“Isaac Gilhooley,” he repeated. “Who is Isaac Gil- 
hooley ?” 

“I presume that you are a stranger in the country, and 
perhaps you are not acquainted with the history of the 
noble reformer. He was a journalist of national reputa- 
tion, and his enemies accused him of murder and accom- 
plished his ruin. The unborn babe was not more inno- 
cent than Isaac Gilhooley of the crime for which he was 
sentenced, but circumstances favored the intrigues of 
those who feared his pen, and the law judged him guilty 
of the deed.” 

While the officer was recounting the history of Isaac 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


20.^ 

Gilhooley from his boyhood' to his incarceration, the old 
man shook with emotion and tears came to his eyes. 

“What was the name of Isaac Gilhooley’s father?” 
then queried the stranger. 

“He was Moses Gilhooley, a Confederate officer in the 
Rebellion.” 

“My God! is it possible! And the mother of Isaac 
Gilhooley — is she yet living ?” 

“Yes, she is the lady to whom I referred you when 
you mentioned her name.” 

The stranger then learned from his informant that the 
mother of Moses Gilhooley, for whom' he was looking, 
had died several years previously. 

“How long has the younger Mrs. Gilhooley been liv- 
ing here?” asked the stranger. 

“Ever since her return from New Israel, nearly a 
quarter of a century ago.” 

“Do you know the antecedents of Mrs. Gilhooley ?” 
inquired the old man. 

“She was the daughter of a banker in Engeddi, and 
her maiden name was Louise Rosenthal.” 

“Ah ! Louise still lives ! But continue, I have inter- 
rupted you.” 

“She was married to Moses Gilhooley in Rubek, and 
on their homeward voyage they were shipwrecked. She 
was rescued from the waves, but her husband lost his life, 
and in honor of his memory she has never laid aside her 
mourning weeds.” 

“Ah ! faithful Louise !” cried the stranger. “I am very 
thankful to you for the information, and now I will take 
the car for Mrs. Gilhooley’s residence.” 

“Here is one coming now — the blue car — it takes you 
by the door.” The old man bade the policeman good-day 
and departed. In the meantime a group of men, attracted 
by the Venerable and weird appearance, had gathered 
around to listen to the conversation 

“Who in the world is he?” said a young man to the 
officer. 

“He seems to be an ancient frien<i of the Rosenthal 
family. Perhaps it is Rosenthal him'self. No, that could 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


iio4 

not be, for he did not know of Isaac Gilhooley’s career 
and death. He is a strange character.'’ 

Many conjectures were offered, all at variance, and 
none gave a clue to the solution of the mystery. The 
stranger reached the home of Mrs. Gilhooley and rang 
the bell. A maid responded to the summons, and the 
old man asked if he could see Mrs. Louise Gilhooley. “I 
will see,” said the maid. “Come in and take a seat.” Go- 
ing to the sitting-room the girl informed her mistress that 
an aged gentleman wished to see her, and in a few mo'‘ 
menfs she was in the parlor. The stranger gazed at her, 
the tears streaming from his eyes. He was overcome 
with emotion, and in trembling voice he asked if she were 
Mrs. Louise Gilhooley. 

“Yes, sir,” replied the matron. 

“Are you the widow of Moses Gilhooley?” 

“I am.” 

“And the daughter of Jeremiah Rosenthal?” 

“Yes.” 

“And you were married in Rubek in 1833?” 

“I was.” 

“May I ask you about the death of your husband ?” 

“Yes, sir,” and the lady related, the story of the ship- 
wreck. When she ceased speaking the strange man cried : 

“Your husband is not dead, but liveth ! Louise, don’t 
you know me? I am Moses Gilhooley, the husband 
whose death you have so long mourned.” 

The lady almost fainted when she recognized her long- 
lost husband, and Moses gathered her in his arms, as he 
had done in the early days of life. They wept, and then 
smiles of joy would break through their tears. When the 
first emotion subsided, Moses Gilhooley related to his 
wife the history of the years that had passed away from 
the wrecking of the Damascus till their meeting then in 
Meron. 

The tidings of Gilhooley’s return to his native land 
flew across the continent on the wings of the wires, and 
every daily paper in Toadia announced the event the next 
morning. The Meron Standard contained a vivid ac- 
count of the arrival, prefaced with glaring headlines. 
“Mystery within mystery. The son dies and the father 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


205 


comes back from the tomb. Moses Gilhooley, who was 
mourned as one of the victims of the ill-fated Damascus, 
returned to Meron yesterday after an absence of nearly 
twenty-eight years. The appearance of a stranger, deep- 
ly interested in the Gilhooley family, excited the curiosity 
of the multitude, and last night it was whispered about 
that Moses Gilhooley was in Meron; The fall of the stars 
could not have created a greater sensation. The reporter 
of the Standard obtained an interview with the aged hero 
at his home on High Street. The veteran narrated the 
story of his life between sobs and sighs, and at times his 
emotion would become so strong that he wept bitterly. 
His loving wife would throw her arms around his neck 
and kiss his wrinkled brow. 

“ Tn making an effort to save my wife and babe the 
night that the Damascus was wrecked,’ he said, T ex- 
hausted my strength and fell back into the water, and was 
lost for several minutes in the waves. After a severe 
struggle I emerged and made my way to a boat, and when 
my presence was noticed by the passengers they lent me 
their assistance and rescued me from death. When I dis- 
covered that my wife was in another boat I loudly called 
her name, but amidst the roar of the deep, and the shrieks 
of death, my voice was lost, and, as we had no oars, our 
little boat was at the mercy of the billows. Before the 
blush of morn streaked the eastern sky, and the light of 
day, playing on the ripples of the sea revealed our posi- 
tion we had drifted far away, and the boats were so widely 
scattered that I could not tell where to look for my dar- 
lings. Had I known where to find them I would have 
hazarded my life in the deep. But the effort would have 
been useless, and my fellow-passengers dissuaded me 
from the attempt, consoling me with the thought that, 
within the next twenty-four hours some ship would ap- 
pear and rescue us all from the perilous position. 

“ The night came on, and no hope cheered our des- 
olate hearts. The morning dawn revealed one wide ex- 
panse of wave bounded by sky, and not a sail broke the 
monotony of the scene. The next day announced no joy- 
ful tidings, and one of our passengers, an aged lady, per- 
ished from cold and hunger, and within twenty-four hours 


206 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


her daughter followed her to the watery grave. In less 
than three days I was the only living passenger in the 
boat, and I felt that my hour was near at hand. On the 
fifth day I beheld a vessel on the distant horizon, and my 
heart leaped with joy. A thousand thoughts flitted across 
my troubled brain, like shadows and sunshine floating 
over the billows. Should I be rescued and find my home 
desolate, bereft of wife and child ! The thought was ex- 
cruciating. Nevermore to see their dimpled faces 
wreathed in smiles of joy I nevermore to hear those voices 
more enchanting than the music of the gods ! nevermore 
to feel those tender arms entwined around my neck, and 
those tender forms pressed to my bosom. 

“ The ship approached me, and I hailed it. I noticed 
that the men were arrayed in strange costumes, a uniform 
that I had never seen in any civilized nation. I was drawn 
from the deep, and, after recovering from the fatigues 
and privations of the struggle, endured for nearly a week, 
I was clothed in the garb of the crew, and put to work. 
They spoke a strange language, but I could glean from 
signs which they made and other indications that they 
were people of the Orient. In two weeks’ time we landed, 
and then I discovered that I was in the hands of the Jesu- 
bites, a nation of pirates, who occasionally enter our 
waters. I was put on the block and sold to merchants 
from Soba, and they took me to their native country, 
where I was condemned to work as a slave in the castle of 
a Soban prince. 

“ ‘After three months I made my escape, and wan- 
dered through the mountains, often inhabiting caves and 
dwelling amidst rocks, not infrequently sleeping on the 
ground, protected by leaves and brush. The national 
guards were on my trail, but I escaped their vigilance, 
though I could not manage to get out of the country. 
For two years I eluded every effort made to recapture me. 
Then the pursuit was abandoned, and one dark, stormy 
night I came forth from my silent retreat and passed be- 
yond the borders of Soba into the land of the Lannites. 
Here I was arrested as^ a spy and incarcerated, and I lan- 
guished in a dungeon for four years. During this time I 
relieved my mind of gathering thoughts by writing a book. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


207 


which I afterwards published at a terrible cost. Finding no 
specific charges against me, the Lannites opened the door 
of my prison, and I was again a free man. I had no money, 
so I was compelled to work in order to acquire sufficient 
funds to bring me back to my native land. A storekeeper 
gave me employment for two months, and I received in 
payment forty skees, a sum equal to ten dollars in Toadian 
money. 

“ ‘I determined to travel as far as this money would 
bring me, and I took the ship for Rohab. When I reached 
that country I discovered that it was in the throes of war 
with the Cushites, and I was drafted and compelled to 
fight the battles of a foreign nation for five years. In the 
meantime I drew my wages, which was about two hun- 
dred dollars in our coin, and then I took the next ship 
for Dan, and reached that country in twenty days. It was 
my determination to leave at the earliest date for Toadia, 
and I was going to the office of the Ninivite line, when I 
met my old friend, Mr. Sanger, from Meron, and, of 
course, I greeted him joyfully. I told him that I was 
going home, and asked about my wife and babe, and he 
told me that my child had perished in the waters, and my 
wife had returned to her father’s home, and soon after- 
wards was married to my old enemy, Luke Tischendorf, 
of Engeddi. 

‘I had known Tischendorf as a schoolboy, when his 
father lived in the South, and many a time I thrashed him 
for his mean, contemptible disposition. Again I exposed 
his villainous schemes to pass the appropriation bill for 
the construction of the Lidda and Central Railroad, of 
which he was a stockholder, and it was solely through the 
efforts of the money kings of the South that he was saved 
from the penitentiary. To think that my darling Louise 
had forgotten me so soon and married that varlet was 
more than I could endure. I went to my hotel and wept 
bitterly, and I determined never again to gaze on the land 
of my nativity. I learned to hate my mother country. I 
cursed her hills and vales, her lakes and -streams, and it 
would have been my delight if some powerful nation had 
invaded her shores, and destroyed her liberties. I feared 
to meet a person whom I had ever known, and in my m^d 


2o8 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


rage I decided to leave Dan immediately, and visit New 
Israel, where I could hide my head among strangers. 

“ ‘I went to Simeon and the visions of my early days in 
Rubek came back to haunt me like a spectre from the 
tomb. I fled to the capital of Zabulon, and one day, as 
I was walking down the street, I saw the Eagles floating 
from the Toadian Consulate, and I fled as if the very folds 
contained the germs of death, and I bent my footsteps 
toward the land of Kurush. There, I said, I shall never 
see the face of a friend, and the world will never know the 
fate of Moses Gilhooley. After several months I ob- 
tained a position on the Cosmopolitan Press at a salary of 
one hundred dollars a month, and with this income I was 
enabled to live in ease and comfort. 

“ Tn 1847 I published the book which I had written 
during my incarceration in Lanna, and I was arraigned 
before the national Sanhedrin for heresy and treason, and 
sent to. the penal colony of Rebia for life. Here I en- 
dured all the tortures of the damned. For more than ten 
years I was condemned to the chain gang, deprived of 
every enjoyment, never allowed to whisper to a fellow- 
convict. The dark thoughts rolled through my brain 
during the hours of working, and at night I was tor- 
mented with visions more appalling than the tenth circle 
of Donte’s Inferno or Milton’s dreams of hell. The days 
of my boyhood returned to haunt me with scenes of plea- 
sure that had forever vanished, with sweet memories of 
home, where I was a child of fond parents, the love of my 
mother’s heart, the glory of my father’s ambition. I re- 
called my early days at the village school, and the com- 
panions of my youth. O, whither have faded those days 
so full of bright hopes and golden promises ! Have the 
parents of my youth passed beyond the mystic vale? Have 
they crossed the borders of life and the shadows of the 
tomb ? Do they look down from their starry thrones and 
behold me in this convict garb ? 

‘‘ 'Again I would wander through the lovely parks of 
fair Rubek, with beautiful Louise by my side. I would 
fold my darling wife and babe in my arms, and gaze on 
their smiling faces, and kiss their rosy lips, and O, how 
happy were those fleeting hours ! My wife became more 


BEYOND THE BLACKOCEAN 


209 


beautiful with the light of every morn, and my babe more 
winsome in the vision of every dream. Then, when the 
slumbers were broken, and I beheld the irou bars of the 
prison, the memory of the dream tortured me with its 
evanescent shadows. Many a time my wails sounded 
through my dungeon cell and broke the sombre silence of 
the night, and the solitude of the prison. Many a time 
prayer asking relief escaped from my laden heart and 
burning lips, and went forth to the halls of eternal justice 
and the throne of mercy. What had I done to merit this 
slow death, from which the damned would shrink? O, 
God ! I cried, Who reignest beyond the deep blue immen- 
sity, amidst flames of purple light ! O God, Whose word 
spoken before the dawn of time rolled forth into glittering 
orbs and dazzling suns. Whose thoughts were material- 
ized in floating worlds and flaming globes, I raise my 
voice to Thy radiant throne. Thou didst send Thy angel 
from the celestial court to carry Thy prophet to the walls 
of Babylon ; Thou didst command the ravens to feed Elias 
at the torrent of Carith ; Thou didst send a spirit from the 
stars to Agar, who sat by the fountain in the wilderness ; 
Thou didst send an embassy from Thy radiant throne to 
liberate the just men from the fire that consumed the 
guiltj cities of the plains ! O God ! Thou didst clothe Thy 
messenger in a flaming pillar to direct the footsteps of 
Israel across the sands of the desert from the valley of 
the Nile to the Valley of the Jordan.; Thou didst feed the 
wandering sons of Abraham with manna from the clouds ; 
Thou didst transform a solid rock into a limpid fountain 
to slake the thirst of the weary travelers ; Thou didst arm 
the trumpet of Josue with magic sounds that destroyed 
the battlements of a fortified city; Thou didst confound 
Balaam in his mission of vengeance, and changed his 
curses into blessings ; Thou didst send martial angels to 
lead Thy mailed hosts to glorious triumphs and fill the 
camp of the Assyrians with the victims of death, and 
haunted the invading legions with the whisperings of the 
tomb ! O, God of omnipotence ! Thou boldest all things 
in the hollow of Thy hand; Thy presence invades all 
places; Thou art higher than heaven, deeper than hell, 
broader than the earth and deeper than the sea; Thy 


210 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


thoughts are from generation to generation, and to Thee a 
thousand years are as yesterday! O God, Thou art the 
Ruler of empires, and Thy breath has swept away mighty 
thrones, and hurled the diadem from the proudest mon- 
arch, and broken the regal scepters into pieces. O God, 
help Thou me in the days of my tribulation, preserve me 
from the hand of the despot, as Thou didst save the life of 
David from the spear of Saul, and shielded the youthful 
hero in the perils of the battlefield. O God, arm the sera- 
phim with power to smite my enemies, as Thou didst send 
the angel of desolation on the camp of the haughty con- 
queror, who, in his pride, had boasted that he would 
humble the royal city. O God, break the manacles that 
bind me as Thou didst open the prison door for the Prince 
of the Apostles ; give me strength to crush the despots 
who goad me to vengeance, as Thou didst enable Sam- 
son to pull down the pillars of the temple. O God, hear 
my prayer ! Hear my cry I hear my agonies, and turn not 
a deaf ear to my supplication, but send a legion of angels 
to assist me in my struggle for liberty! 

“ ‘But my prayers were unavailing, and at times I 
doubted the existence of Divine Providence. I could not 
believe that a merciful God would tolerate His servants 
to be afflicted with tortures, when it was in His power 
to relieve them. I could not think that a just God would 
permit the reign of injustice. Then again I wandered in 
fancy’s flight to the village of Bethlehem, where the Sec- 
ond Person of the Blessed Trinity was born in human 
flesh, and while the voice of angels sang Glory be to God 
on the highest, and peace on earth to men of good will, 
the sorrows of all the ages grouped around the infant 
form of Jesus Christ. I followed the career of the Naz- 
arene from the cradle to the tomb. I beheld the flight into 
Egypt, where the babe was borne to save His young life 
from the sword of Herod. I dwelt with Him in the pov- 
erty and obscurity of His village home in Galilee. I saw 
Him in the garden of Gethsemane, where the pale moon- 
light poured through the olive trees, and beamed on His 
wan and haggard features. I heard the footsteps of the 
soldiers coming to arrest Him, and saw the traitor leading 
the wicked band. I followed Him to Pilate’s hall, where 


LEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


2II 


he was scourged and crowned with thorns, and presented 
as a spectacle to men and angels in the words of the Ro- 
man Governor, “Behold the Man!” I saw that sacred 
form, burdened with the cross, wander forth to the 
place of execution amid the jeers and taunts of the rabble. 
I walked along the road to Calvary in the footprints of 
my Redeemer, and saw the murderers stretch Him on the 
instrument of torture, and heard the strokes of the ham- 
mer that drove the nails through His hands and feet. I 
heard His last words of love, when the angel of death cast 
the shadow of his wing across the bloodstained height. I 
heard His promise to the penitent thief. I heard His cry 
to the throne of mercy, “Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do!” When I reflected on that 
dreadful scene, a God weltering in the blood of a mortal, 
a God pleading to His Father to spare His enemies, a God 
crying to the throne of Omnipotence in behalf of His exe- 
cutioners, I said that God’s ways are mysteries, and I re- 
signed myself to cruel fate, and prayed for the salvation 
of my persecutors. 

“ ‘After ten years of confinement I was released from 
the chain gang and permitted to join the trusted men, who 
enjoyed many privileges denied to the others. One day 
I stole into the woods and escaped the vigilance of the 
guards ; and, by traveling through the deep shadows of 
the night, I reached the seashore within six months. I 
confided in one of the sailors, who gave me a uniform, and 
I discarded the convict’s robe and went on the ship, as 
one of the employes, and thus I made my way to Lybia, 
and from there I went in another ship to Asher. There 
I sought employment and in one year I had saved about 
four hundred dollars. 

“ ‘Time had changed my ideas, and I perceived that my 
career had been unfortunate through the false step I had 
taken, when I listened to the story of Sanger. My heart 
was softened by sorrow, and as I had lost my former ha- 
tred for my native land, I decided to return again to the 
scenes of my boyhood. I left Asher last Wednesday and 
reached Deboreh on Monday, and immediately came to 
Meron. I did not expect to see my mother when I in- 
quired for her, but I was astonished when I learned that 


213 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


my wife still lived, and mourned my loss, and that my 
babe had become a famous man and died for the cause of 
human liberty/ 

“Here the old man wept again. Mr. Gilhooley was 
surprised and amazed when informed that Mr. Sanger 
had deserted his wife in Meron and had married a Danish 
lady. This is the reason he uttered that infamous false- 
hood against the fidelity of my beautiful Louise,’ said Mr. 
Gilhooley. ‘I presume that he thought I was acquainted 
with the fact of his second marriage, and did not want 
me to return and inform the people of this city.’ That 
might have been one motive,’ said the reporter, ‘but he 
had another, and perhaps a stronger one. Before leaving 
this country he committed several forgeries, aggregating 
nearly a million dollars. He wanted to conceal himself 
from the officers of the law, and he thought that your re- 
turning to Toadia might give a clue to his location. His 
disappearance from home was mysterious, and it was 
generally presumed that he had been assassinated. When 
the forgeries were discovered no one ever dreamed of 
looking for him byond the Abrahamic waters, for it was 
supposed that he had taken refuge in the far East.’ 

“‘Was he ever captured?’ asked Gilhooley. ‘Yes, 
seven years afterwards he was apprehended in Zabulon 
and taken back to this country, and sentenced to the 
penitentiary for twenty-one years.’ ‘Well,’ said the old 
man, ‘I cannot pity him, for his calumny separated me 
from my wife for an eternity.’ Mr. Gilhooley promised 
to furnish the Standard with a synopsis of his book at 
some future time, and the public may look for a treat. The 
title of the work is, ‘Dawn and Darkness.’ ” 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

“The Flaming Sword” contained the following com- 
munication in its issue of July 14th, i860: 

“Last week the Kidron Chronicle contained a contri- 


BEYOND THE BLACR OCEAN 

bution from the pen of Senator Wilhelm, who descanted 
on the futility of Socialism, and, as an illustration, he 
pointed to the postoffice. ‘That,' said the writer, ‘is an 
example of the inability of the government to manage a 
great concern with economy. The postal system does not 
pay.’ But the Senator did not advance any reason to 
maintain his position against the beneficence of Socialism. 
Does the public school pay ? And why not? Because it 
is a public institution, which gives free instruction to the 
youth of the land. No free institution can realize divi- 
dends. When the postage was three cents, the postoffice 
not only paid, but yielded a revenue of several millions to 
the national treasury. Every employe in the mail service 
is well compensated for his labor, the average wages be- 
ing nine hundred and ninety dollars per annum. Two 
cents will carry a letter to the farthest end of the Re- 
public. The government gives seven million dollars an- 
nually in rent for one thousand postal cars, whose con- 
struction costs only four millions, and these cars will last 
for twenty years. Therefore, the railroads rob the gov- 
ernment of six million, eight hundred thousand dollars 
annually. The Deboreh and Central Road charges eight 
thousand, five hundred dollars for every car, and these 
cars can be made for three thousand, five hundred dollars. 
In addition to this, the roads charge one cent for every 
fifty-six miles for the transportation of mail, which is 
eight times as much as they charge the express com- 
panies, and fifty times the rate paid by the shippers. More- 
over, thousands of tons of mail are sent free, such as 
books on agriculture and millions of other publications, 
to say nothing of the low rates furnished to newspapers. 
Another item in computing the amount of mail carried at 
the expense of the government is the franking system. 

“The receipts of the postoffice in 1857 were ninety 
million dollars, and the expenses ninety-eight million. Of 
this sum, fifty-two millions were paid to the railroads. 
The annual robbery perpetrated by railroads against the 
government of this country in the transportation of mails 
is over thirty millions. Stop that robbery, and there will 
be an annual profit of twenty-two millions accruing to the 
postoffice. 


214 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


“The mail service in Dan realizes a profit of sixteen 
million dollars. In Zabulon it aggregates twenty-seven 
million; in New Media it is four million, and in every 
country in the trans-arctic world, except Toadia, the post- 
office yields a revenue to the national treasury. 

“Public roads should be utilized for the benefits of 
the community, as they are public conveniences built for 
public purposes and are granted franchise by the govern- 
ment. The people should demand the ownership of these, 
and not permit private corporations to fatten on the pub- 
lic pap. I speak not only of railroads but of street car 
lines. Are not these lines using the city for their private 
purposes ? Are they not accumulating wealth at the ex- 
pense of the public? Let us emancipate the people from 
the reign of the moneyed oligarchy of the land. Let us 
assert and defend our inalienable rights, of which we 
have been divested. The masses are but caryatids used to 
sustain the temple of wealth. 

“The actual cost of transporting passengers is less 
than two cents in great cities like Deboreh, Lidda, Kidron 
and Sohaman. In the city of Deboreh, the Third Avenue 
line, which is twenty-eight miles long, is capitalized at 
five hundred and twenty-seven thousand dollars per mile. 
The road pays five per cent on five million dollars of 
bonds and ten per cent on ten million dollars of stock. 
The net earnings per mile every year is forty thousand 
dollars. The Broadway line is a more aggravated case of 
municipal robbery. It has ten miles of line, and it is cap- 
italized at one million, one hundred and fifty-two thou- 
sand dollars per mile. 

“The president of the General Electric Railway Com- 
pany in 1855 offered one hundred thousand dollars for 
the franchise from the north to the south of the city, and 
promised to give a three-cent fare to the public. It was 
ably proved by a writer in the Sun, about two months ago, 
that the west line could afford to reduce the fare to one 
cent, and yet give a large dividend. Millions of dollars 
are yearly cast by the citizens of Deboreh into the coffers 
of the street railway companies without any compensa- 
tion. 

“In the city of Tamolob the council wisely exacted 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


215 


from the street car lines twenty per cent of their gross re- 
ceipts for the use of the public thoroughfares. The rev- 
enue derived from this source has been judiciously in- 
vested, and the income has been spent in securing for the 
city a system of beautiful parks. Since the Broadway 
franchise scandal the Deboreh street railway franchises 
are sold to the highest bidder, and this measure has pre- 
vented the city council from granting the rights of the 
people to private corporations for their personal benefits. 

“Danish bondholders draw six hundred and fifty thou- 
sand dollars from their investments in street railways of 
the cities of Laup and Polinisrop. Did the ties and iron 
and cars come from Dan ? Did Danish labor build those 
lines ? If the people of the twin cities built those lines 
they should own them. Why should Toadian money be 
shipped across the waters every year to the capitalists of 
Hosea, when those capitalists have done nothing for the 
advancement of our cities, when they have never even 
seen the lines which yield them a revenue? Simply be- 
cause our people do not comprehend the benefits they 
would receive in exchanging the credit of the city for the 
labor required in constructing and operating these roads, 
and, in their ignorance, they pay fabulous sums for a me- 
dium of exchange. 

“The cities of Deboreh, Poorlyn, Engeddi, Telon and 
Mason have their water lines, which yield a large rev- 
enue. Why not go a step further and have a complete 
ownership of every municipal franchise, of every public 
enterprise? Millions could be saved by adopting these 
wise measures. Port David is the only city in Toadia 
with municipal ownership of railways. Its population 
does not exceed two thousand, seven hundred, and it has 
an electric road with eight miles of track. The construc- 
tion and equipment of this line cost one hundred and 
twelve thousand dollars, or fourteen thousand dollars per 
mile. The annual income is ten thousand dollars. . De- 
ducting from this sum eight thousand for operating, and 
the municipality has two thousand dollars in profits. 

“Romoto has built and operates its street railways, 
which cost one million, five hundred thousand dollars, 
and the yearly profits are four hundred thousand dollars. 


2I6 


BEYOND THE BLACKOCEAN 


According to this the road will redeem itself in four years. 

“The pawn shops of our country lend money at from 
twenty-five to fifty per cent. In Simeon the national 
pawn shops never charge higher than ten per cent, and 
they are substantial means of assisting the indigent 
classes, and are actually the poor man’s bank. These 
banks were established in Rubek as early as 1737, and in 
that city they transact a business of seven millions an- 
nually. After paying all expenses and interest on capital, 
their profits amount to three hundred thousand dollars. 
Zabulon has eighty cities conducting national pawn shops. 

“There are six hundred cities in the world with mu- 
nicipal gas plants, and the rates are from seventy-five to 
one hundred per cent lower than the private companies 
in Toadia. Baron has a plant which was constructed at 
a cost of one hundred and seventy-six thousand dollars, 
which provides the city with gas at seventy-five cents per 
one thousand; and, besides lighting the streets and all 
public buildings free of cost, there is an annual profit of 
thirty thousand dollars accruing to the community. In 
six years the profits covered the original cost of the plant. 
The city authorities made the statement last year that the 
cost of gas, including labor, repairs and extensions, was 
only forty cents per one thousand feet. Deboreh is robbed 
of three millions every year by private gas companies. 

“Meron City furnishes gas at sixty cents per one thou- 
sand feet, and realizes a balance of forty thousand dollars 
annually. Tamform has her gas at fifty cents per one 
thousand feet. Hosea is depending for its gas on the 
great Danish Trust, which has a capitalized stock aggre- 
gating eighty million dollars. The real value of the plant 
is twenty millions, and the annual dividends amount to 
nine and one-half millions, or a profit of forty-five per 
cent on the investment. The people are compelled to pay 
ninety-five cents per one thousand feet. Chesman, with 
a municipal plant, provides gas at sixty cents per one 
thousand feet ; and, besides lighting public buildings and 
streets and parks free, has a net profit of four hundred 
and fifty-three thousand dollars per annum, which is spent 
in making city improvements and reducing taxation. 

“In 1842 Mungar bought her plant at ten million dol- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


217 


lars, and she supplies gas at fifty cents per nineteen hun- 
dred feet, and has an annual balance of one hundred and 
seventy-five thousand dollars. She has, moreover, re- 
duced the hours of labor for those employed in the gas 
works to an eight-hour day, and advanced the wages. 
Wogsol gives gas for sixty cents per one thousand feet, 
and makes an annual profit of three hundred thousand 
dollars. Whenever municipalities have purchased plants 
from private corporations, although at enormous prices, 
they have invariably and immediately reduced the cost to 
consumers from one dollar and twenty-five cents' and one 
dollar and seventy-five cents to seventy^five and fifty 
cents. Desmon has gas at twenty-eight cents per one 
thousand feet, and the municipality has promised a re- 
duction in the near future. 

“The public health demands municipal ownership of 
the water-works, for nothing disseminates the germs of 
disease more rapidly and efficaciously than impure water. 
Is it wise to entrust the health of a community to a pri- 
vate company who will economize at the expense of its 
patrons? In many cities of Toadia the water-works are 
under the municipality, and, as compared with the private 
ownership of water supplies, statistics prove that millions 
of dollars, as well as scores of lives, have been saved by 
the adoption of this movement. 

“The telephone, operated by municipalities, as in most 
of the cities of New Israel, shows that the vast cost of this 
convenience can be reduced at least one hundred per cent. 
The city of Smyral saves forty per cent by the ownership 
of the electric light ; Gilead forty-nine per cent ; Kerops 
sixty-two per cent, and Loman sixty-four per cent. These 
are four illustrations of four hundred that I could easily 
mention. National telegraph and telephone lines can 
furnish service five hundred per cent cheaper than the 
lines operated by private companies. And yet people will 
not open their eyes to see the truth ! Why permit pri- 
vate corporations to rob you of millions annually ? It is 
not a mystery that our country is filled with kings and 
beggars, and the chasm between the classes is growing 
wider and deeper with the succession of the seasons. Let 
the people of this country buy out the corporations, or 


21$ 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


build Other industries in the same line of business, in case 
the companies refuse to relinquish their claims to the 
empire of the nation’s wealth and power. 

“The only method of destroying the influence of the 
trusts is to establish government trusts, which can afford 
to undersell the private trusts, and the latter will vanish 
in a week. The trusts are beneficial to the nation when 
they give the benefit of their power to the consumer, for 
a mighty industry that fills every corner of the empire 
can diminish the cost of production and exchange. Mil- 
lions can be saved by avoiding the necessity of compe- 
tition, which involves useless expenditure of exertion in 
soliciting patronage. The dairyman is compelled to waste 
half of his time in seeking patrons for his produce. While 
he has only one customer in the extreme east part of the 
city, there is another in the extreme west, and the inter- 
vening space is occupied by a dozen competitors. If we 
had the government control of the milk supply, each 
wagon would have its territory, and there would be no ne- 
cessity for competition, since each would furnish the 
same quantity of fluid at the same price. People would 
have no hesitancy about the purity of the article, since 
the government would have no motive for adulterating 
the milk. In every line of industry, the same advantages 
are apparent. The storekeeper would spend no money 
in advertising his groceries, as he is an agent of the gov- 
ernment, and it is a matter of indifference to him whether 
you patronize his house or go down to the next corner. 
In fact, there would be no necessity for the multiplication 
of stores. One vast establishment would be sufficient to 
supply the demands of the entire city. The saving from 
a co-operative system of production and distribution, 
under the management of the government, would mount 
up to the billions, and this great sum, now uselessly ex- 
pended, would go to the consumers and producers.” 

Some readers may doubt the authenticity of these fig- 
ures, but they are verified by a comparison of private with 
government industries and enterprises- here in America. 
In the report of 1890, Postmaster General Wanamaker 
said that an investment of one thousand dollars in 1858 
in Western Union Stock should have received, up to that 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 2T() 

time, stock dividends- of more than fifty thousand dollars, 
and cash dividends of more than one hundred thousand 
dollars, or three hundred per cent each year. In England, 
when private companies had charge of the telegraph lines, 
a message cost sixty cents, and to-day, under national 
control, twelve words can be sent for twelve cents. In 
France and Belgium the government telegraph lines will 
send a message of ten words for ten cents. The street 
railways of Glasgow carry thirty per cent of the passen- 
gers for two cents, and yet it cleared four hundred thou- 
sand dollars in 1896. We cannot give these advantages 
to the public under the management of private companies, 
since we are compelled to pay in advanced rates large divi- 
dends on fictitious capital. 

The street railway plant in Philadelphia cost thirty-six 
million dollars, and it is capitalized at one hundred and 
twenty millions. In Chicago the street railways cost thirty 
millions and they pay dividends on ninety million. In St. 
Louis the cost of the plant is ten millions, and it is cap- 
italized at ninety millions. It is not surprising that the 
employes of that line went on a strike against the con?- 
pany. 

General Meyer, city attorney of Cleveland, Ohio, in 
1892, showed that one thousand dollars invested in the gas 
company of that city in 1850 would be worth twenty-four 
thousand dollars at that time, with six per cent dividends 
each year, or one hundred and forty-four per cent on the 
original investment. The Metropolitan Telephone Com- 
pany in New York realized, in six years, the enormous 
sum of two million, eight hundred thousand dollars on an 
investment of six hundred thousand dollars. In 1885 it 
cleared one hundred and sixteen per cent; in 1886, one 
hundred and forty-seven per cent; in 1887, one hundred 
and forty-five per cent. Elgin, Illinois, paid a private com- 
pany two hundred and forty-two dollars per annum for an 
arc light till midnight ; and since 1890 the city owns and op- 
erates an electric plant, and now furnishes an arc light all 
night for eighty-five dollars. With a municipal owner- 
ship of electric plant, Detroit has reduced the cost per arc 
light from one hundred and thirty dollars to seventy-five 
dollars ; Bangor, Maine, from one hundred and fifty dol- 


BEYOND THE BLaCK OCEAN 

lars to fifty-three dollars; Lewiston, Maine, from one 
hundred and eighty-two dollars to fifty-five dollars ; Pea- 
body, Massachusetts, from one hundred and eighty-five 
dollars to sixty-two dollars ; Bay City, Michigan, from 
one hundred and ten dollars to fifty-eight dollars ; Hunt- 
ington, Indiana, from one hundred and forty-six dollars 
to fifty dollars ; Bloomington, Illinois, from one hundred 
and eleven dollars to fifty-one dollars; Jacksonville, Flor- 
ida, now pays, under municipal ownership, just three- 
fourths what was paid under private ownership. 


CHAPTER XXV. 

The Presidential election occurred in the autumn of 
i860. The Protectionists embodied in their platform high 
tariff and imperialism ; and the Liberals adopted the anti- 
trust and anti-imperialistic planks. The Social Demo- 
cratic Party advocated the government ownership of all 
the means of production and distribution. The last party 
attempted to form an alliance with the Socialist Labor 
party, but the attempt was futile. The Union Reform 
party advocated the coalescence of all political organiza- 
tions seeking to ameliorate the condition of the country, 
justly supporting its claim to. the adherence of those ani- 
mated with the pure spirit of reformation by appealing to 
the fact that the Initiative and Referendum would give 
every voter the opportunity of expressing his views on 
each issue. 

In the late election the Protectionists polled six mil- 
lion; the Liberals, five million ; the Social Democrats, one 
million ; the Single Tax party, two hundred thousand ; the 
Union Reform party, three hundred thousand ; the Pro- 
hibitionists, one hundred thousand, and the Socialist La- 
bor party, seven hundred thousand, and the Nationalists, 
one million, six hundred thousand. The last party had 
been in existence for several years. They advocated the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


221 


municipal ownership of public utilities, such as light, 
water, and street railways, and the national ownership of 
transportation, besides the adoption of direct legislation. 

Many of the Socialists favored an alliance with the Na- 
tionalists, claiming that the advocates of the latter party 
were moderate in all their demands, and would enlist the 
support of a large class of voters who were opposed to 
the radical measures adopted in the platform of the So- 
cialist party. “The farmers,” wrote an exponent of the 
fusionists, “will oppose Socialism, for they will not aban- 
don-the rights of private ownership in land, and the farm- 
ers constitute a large percentage of the voters. Again, 
the small merchants, and other men engaged in private 
industries with a small amount of capital, imagine that 
Socialism means the annihilation of their means of sub- 
sistence. In a few years, the trusts will wipe out the small 
business man, and then he will become a Socialist. The 
Nationalist platform would immediately enlist in our 
cause a majority of voters, and place the party in power. 
Socialism will begin its reign by the municipal ownership 
of public utilities, and then it will proceed to nationalize 
the railroads. The trusts will come next, and, last of all, 
the land. Why not, then, limit our demands to- those ques^ 
tions which will meet with the approval of the country at 
large ? When the public see the advantages of Socialism 
in these lines, every step forward will meet with their ap- 
proval. Socialism must come gradually, and it is' defer- 
ring its triumph to adopt measures in our platform which 
cannot be realized for many years after its inauguration.” 

But all efforts to consolidate were useless. Politi- 
cians divided the forces of the reform parties, preferring 
their personal interests to the common weal. The time 
for fusion, they said, had not arrived, and each party, un- 
willing to make any advances, adopted an independent 
platform. 

The next evening after the election. Lord Aran and 
Lord Uriah, who had come over to watch events, and 
Judge Tischendorf, were entertained at the stately resi- 
dence of Ezichias Rosebergen. 

“My Lord Aran,” said the host, “we have conquered 


222 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


again! Imperialism is now a settled question. It will 
never come up again.” 

‘‘Yes,” replied the nobleman, “your prophecies have 
been fulfilled. You have realized the dream of your am- 
bition, so far ; but the transition from imperialism to mon- 
archy is rather perilous.” 

“O tut! tut! nonsense, my Lord! nothing could be 
more easy. The press will do it all. It has been faithful 
to its obligations, and won the first victory in the founda- 
tion of an empire ; the second victory will be a recreation 
instead .of a struggle. Now, the next step in this matter 
is to increase our army to two hundred thousand. Ne- 
cessity requires this to conquer the Heronites. We will 
manage to bring home a hundred thousand about three 
years from the next inauguration, and then we will pro- 
claim the eight-year term, and if there be any manifesta- 
tion of rebellion, we will crush the movement in its incip- 
iency.” 

“That's it, crush it at once ! Don't let the hounds have 
a word to say ! Slaughter them like sheep ! Tie them to 
the lamp-posts and lash them with scorpion whips ! You 
people in Toadia are entirely too subservient to the opin- 
ions of the canaille. Ah ! you would live a long time in 
the empire of Dan before you would see a Danish lord 
consulting the wishes of his minions.” 

“My Lord, we have been entirely too kind to our ser- 
vants,” said Rosenberger. “I have always advocated 
the subjection of the poor laboring people to bondage, 
and it will come to that yet in this country. What right 
have these illiterate boors to the use of the franchise?” 

“Franchise?” exclaimed Aran. “I would franchise 
their backs with rawhides ! The idea of a herd of swine 
dictating to intelligent people by using the ballot ! Why, 
it will not be long, if this privilege is tolerated, before you 
will have a blacksmith for President.” 

“No danger of that, my Lord ! We will conquer their 
ambition before the next election, and to-day eight years, 
you and my son-in-law. Lord Uriah, will be invited to the 
coronation of the first king of Toadia.” 

“That is capital !” remarked Lord Uriah. “How would 
it do to make me the first king?” 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


223 


“That will come in a very short time after the coup-d’- 
etat, and either you, or Lord Aran, will be the King of 
Toadia yet. And I will be Duke of Engeddi, and we will 
find an earldom for Judge Tischendorf. Eh, Judge, how 
does that strike you?’' 

“Nothing could please me better, and I have no doubt 
of the accomplishment of your purposes,” replied the 
Judge. “Although the Social Democrats registered one 
million votes at the election yesterday, and the Socialist 
Labor party seven hundred thousand, I can safely assort 
that their day is ended, and the members of those an- 
archistic organizations have cast their last ballot. The 
days of campaigns are over in Toadia, and we will live to 
see those turbulent bands of wretches chained to our door- 
posts and wearing the livery of slaves. We have suc- 
ceeded so well in our intrigues that the hopes of retrogres- 
sion are forever blasted. There is only one power in the 
Republic, and that is the money power, and before an- 
other lustrum, its potency will be unquestionable ; it will 
be the only factor in the government of the land. Al- 
ready we buy the legislatures and the national Congress 
and Senate. You see the yokels and clouts cannot dis- 
tinguish between virtue and vice, and they always cast 
their votes for the men of the worst stripe, who are unable 
to resist the fascination of gold.” 

While this conference was taking place in Engeddi, 
there was a subject of a different nature being discussed 
at the Gehtheimer mansion in Deboreh. Lord Jesse had 
disappeared from the city, and it was ascertained that he 
had sailed on the steamship Bethlehem from Lidda with 
Mrs. Reisan. Benjamin Marx had called that evening on 
Miss Lucile, whom he had been wooing for some time. 
He was a bright, handsome young man from Sohonam, 
and had succeeded in winning the heart of the fair maid. 
He represented himself as the son of a wealthy gold 
miner, and although he was in every way worthy of the 
first family of Deboreh, yet Mrs. Gehtheimer strictly op- 
posed his attentions to her daughter, as long as the Dan- 
ish lord gave her hopes of a higher order. But now the 
nobleman had proved recreant to his promises, and 
seemed to be fascinated with the charms of Mrs. Reisan. 


224 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


That lady’s husband had never returned, and it was' wide- 
ly rumored that he had abandoned his wife because of her 
intimacy with the Danish aristocrat. It was generally 
supposed that he had clandestinely secured a divorce, and 
liberated his spouse from her nuptial vows. Before his 
departure he had left papers bequeathing her his prop- 
erty in Deboreh, including a factory, houses, real estate, 
bank and street railway stocks, amounting to more than 
five millions of dollars. Although the extent of his prop- 
erty was not known, it was generally presumed that since 
he had made such large bequests to his wife, that he had 
millions in other investments. 

“Do you think Lord Jesse intends to marry Mrs. 
Reisan?” asked Benjamin Marx to Mrs. Gehtheimer. 

“It is not necessary to marry her, as it is known to the 
people of this city that they have been married for several 
years, and as her husband was not an ardent advocate of 
polygamy, he simply resigned his rights to Lord Jesse.” 

“Where do you think they have gone?” 

“Oh, I presume they are located in Dan, or perhaps on 
the continent of New Israel.” 

“I always esteemed Lord Jesse very high. In my 
mind, he was the pink of perfection.” 

“Well, Mr, Marx, I thought so once, but I have dis- 
covered since that he is a character of the vilest type.” 

“Why, you astonish me ! I cannot comprehend your 
words. What has wrought this marvelous change in your 
estimation of the Danish nobleman?” 

“There are stains on his life that would make the 
angels weep on their jasper thrones !” cried she. “The 
blood of the Savior, adored by the Christians, if He be the 
Son of the Most High, could not purify the crimsoned 
soul of Lord Jesse.” 

“’You do not intend to say that this accomplished gen- 
tleman has tarnished his character with the effusion of 
human blood ?” exclaimed the young man. 

“Do you not know, Mr, Marx, that a web of mystery 
was woven around that man’s career ? He came among 
us a stranger, and the more I studied his character the 
more I felt convinced that some revelation' of a startling 
nature would be made.” 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


225 


‘‘Have you any information bearing on the subject?” 

“I know enough to put Lord Jesse behind the prison 
bars. He made confidants of our family, and I do not 
wish to betray him ; but when I learned these things, I dis- 
carded his friendship, and in his fears he left the country 
with that scarlet wretch.” 

“This is certainly news to me ! I never dreamed that 
Lord Jesse was suspected of the slightest misdemeanor. 
What was the nature of the crime he committed, and 
where did he commit it ?” 

“I will answer those questions some time, perhaps, 
but not to-night.” 

Here the conversadon ended, as Miss Lucille entered 
the drawing-room. 

Moses Gilhooley and Abraham McGillicuddy and his 
father had gone down to Einstein’s to spend a few hours. 
The two elderly gentlemen had taken great interest in the 
election ; and they had come to Deboreh to congratulate 
Abraham on the growth of Socialism, as manifested in the 
large number of votes polled, and to encourage him in the 
work of reformation. 

“Mr. Einstein, have you heard from your daughter 
since she left for Jonas?” inquired Moses Gilhooley. 

“I received a letter from her last week. She had just 
arrived and was very well. She gave quite an interesting 
account of her voyage and her first impression of Jonas 
and the Jonites. They are certainly a noble race of peo- 
ple, and they are gallantly fighting against the mightiest 
power on the globe.” 

“How large is Jonas ?” 

“The entire population does not exceed four hundred 
thousand, and the army is about forty thousand.” 

“And yet they are engaged in war with a nation of 
two hundred and fifty millions, including her colonies; 
and as she has taxed the resources of all her dominions, 
we can truthfully state that Jonas is fighting the Danish 
Empire. How long will Miss Biddy remain in Jonas ?” 

“Till the war is over, if that be a period of twenty 
years. We are in sympathy with the young Republic, and 
we did not oppose her intention of going with the hospital 
corps, as it would divert her mind, which has been under 


226 


BEVOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


an awful strain since the tragic death of poor Isaac. Be- 
sides, Biddy had, from her earliest years, a penchant for 
charitable work, and this is an opportunity to exercise 
her native proclivities.” 

“She is a noble girl. When I first saw her, I remarked 
to Louise that Isaac had shown that he was a man of ex- 
cellent merit when he had won the heart of such a maiden. 
May God bless her young life, and may she become the 
Judith of New Israel, and may she meet with some man 
who is worthy of her love.” 

“That will be impossible, Mr. Gilhooley. There are, 
in the world, many men worthy of Biddy, but the door of 
her heart is closed to the wiles of Cupid. Her affections 
are buried in Meron Cemetery, and moulder with the 
bones of Isaac Gilhooley.” 

The old man wept when reference was made to the 
grave of his son, and the tears trickled down the face of 
Mr. Einstein when he saw the venerable figure bow his 
head in sorrow. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

“Mr. Marx, have you read the latest issue of ‘The 
Flaming Sword’?” 

“No, I have not, Mr. Simon. Anything in it of a start- 
ling nature?” 

“I cannot say that it contains any extraordinary 
statements ; but you know that it always has something 
new and spicy, and each number seems to be more fasci- 
nating than the one preceding. Here is a copy of the pa- 
per and you may look over its columns. I wish to call 
your attention to the contribution on Socialism supported 
by scriptural and Christian doctrine.” 

“I shall read that letter, Mr. Simon, for I am anx- 
ious to see what argument McGillicuddy presents from 
the Bible to sustain the morality of Socialism,” and un^ 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 227 

folding the paper, Marx read the article under the follow- 
ing headlines : 

The doctrine of God compared with the doctrine of 
men. The Socialism of Israel and the wealth of the Gen- 
tiles. Let us choose between Jesus and Caesar. 

There are many ministers of the Church, both ancient 
and modern, who have lent the weight of their authority to 
cause of humanity ; but there are hosts of divines who 
worship at the altar of Mammon, and daily prostitute their 
genius and are willing to sacrifice their lives to maintain 
the pretention-s of the strong and the mighty against the 
cry of the poor and the oppressed. 

Rev. Aaron Nicholson, in his sermon last Sunday, 
stated that Socialism was immoral and iniquitous, and as 
civilized and religious people we should exterminate this 
unholy doctrine, and purify the land of the presence of 
those who have filled it with the fires of revolution and the 
germs of corruption. I wish to call the attention of the 
public to the attitude assumed by Aaron Nicholson in 
reference to the Single Tax many years ago, when he ut- 
tered the same opinion through the columns of the Meron 
Ledger, as he expressed in his recent sermon. Isaac Gil- 
hooley was then a student at the University of Meron, and 
the public know how the young athlete exposed the pre- 
tentious preacher in the field of intellectual gymnastics. 
Mr. Nicholson proved to the whole world that he was a 
mental pygmy, and the veriest tyro in the school of po- 
litical economy. He made several vain attempts to shield 
himself from the shafts of logic clothed in caustic irony, 
but Gilhooley followed the philosopher of the Island City 
through all his protean transformations. 

I recall those sallies of humor poured forth on the 
head of the clerical bumpkin. “The wiseacre from the 
Ammonitic waves has donned the hues of the chameleon. 
The end has come, the end that never had a beginning. 
My opponent has fled in disgrace from the bloody arena, 
and now he pleads like a whimpering babe for the palm of 
victory. I should have had profound respect for his char- 
acter had he acknowledged, with the humility of our an- 
cient sire, ‘Lord, I was afraid, because I was naked, and 
hid myself.* ’* A man endowed with ideas of common 


228 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


decency would not hazard his reputation for learning by 
expressing his views on a question of which he has not 
the slightest knowledge. If ignorance be the object of 
Rabbi Nicholson’s ambition, he could never graduate 
more honorably than at the present time. 

We love the grand old church of the patriarchs, an in- 
stitution that has seen the rise and fall of every empire in 
the world, an institution that traces its origin back to the 
days when the Pharaohs ruled on the shores of the Nile, 
when Assyria was queen of the Orient, when Nineveh 
and Babylon adorned the streams of Paradise. I love that 
grand old empire, for it was the creed of my maternal an- 
cestors. Its teachings have been transmitted through all 
the centuries, and penetrated every region of the earth. 
As we learned from the histories brought to this country 
by the passengers of the Rochelle, the sons of Judah have 
controlled the finance and commerce of all Christian na- 
tions, and we, on this side of the Black Ocean, have estab- 
lished a score of mighty empires which have surpassed 
every power in either the old or new world, in ancient or 
modern times. 

I also love the Church of the Messiah, for my paternal 
ancestors were rocked in the cradle of Christianity, and 
lived in the shadow of the altar. I have read the history 
of that church, and I have been enchanted with the glory 
of her triumphs. Hail, glorious Church ! Thy conquests 
are written in every city and town, every village and ham- 
let, from the Gulf of Bothnia to the shores of the Bospho- 
rus. Thy achievements are displayed in the ruins of pa- 
gan shrines and the transformation of heathen temples. 
Thy history is inscribed on the rocks of the Pyrenees, on 
the crags of the Apennines, on the summit of the Balkans, 
on the peaks of the Alps, on the stones of Venice and the 
hills of Rome, on the walls of Genoa and the gates of 
Florence. Hail, glorious Church! Thy victories are 
manifested in the Museums of London and Edinburgh, 
Paris and Munich, Brussels and Vienna; in the universi- 
ties of Freiburg and Innsbruck, Siena and Perugia, Ox- 
ford and Cambridge; in the galleries, schools and libra- 
ries of Italy and Spain, France and Germany, Holland 
and Belgium. Hail, glorious Church ! The triumphs of 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


220 


thy march are seen on the shores of the Rhine and the 
Seine, the Reuss and the Rhone, the Elbe and the Dan- 
ube; and the story of thy splendor is sung by the rippling 
waves of the Vistula and the Volga, the Oder and the 
Meuse, the Tagus and the Elro. Hail, glorious Church ! 
The shadow of thy glory rests on all the lakes and on all 
the bays, on all the mountains and on all the vales, on all 
the forests and on all the moors of Christian Europe. 

The hills of Israel were consecrated by the voice of 
God, and hallowed by the footsteps of angels. I love to 
wander in fancy’s glorious flight along the valley of the 
Jordan, amidst the vineyards of Engeddi, and over the 
plains of Jericho. I love to visit the city that fell into a 
heap of ruins at the magic sound of the trumpet. I love to 
linger amid the olive groves of Palestine, and pluck the 
wild thyme from the banks that guarded her limpid 
streams. I love to listen to the doleful music of the Dead 
Sea, where Jehovah burned the iniquities of a degenerate 
people, and rescued Lot and his family from the flames of 
His wrath. I love to kiss the tombs of the patriarchs, and 
venerate the ashes of the prophets. I love to behold Sha- 
ron rejoicing in her wealth of golden grain and watch the 
herds grazing on her verdant slopes. 

In my ardent admiration for Israelism, the religion of 
prophesies and promises, and Christianity, the realization 
of all the dreams of the ancient seers, whose glories re- 
spond to the sighs of the good and great men of every 
age, since the bridal pair were banished from the shady 
groves and babbling brooks of Eden; in my admiration 
for the faith of Jew and Gentile, I will not permit the reve- 
lations of the Most High, treasured up in Church and 
Synagogue, to be distorted and perverted by an ignorant 
clergyman. 

Nicholson is a blind man leading the blind. He as- 
persed the snowy brow of justice, and his blasphemous 
utterances have defiled the temple of sanctity. Although 
the Ancient Testament does not denounce wealth as an 
essential evil, it everywhere speaks against its possession 
as an obstacle to the growth of holiness. The wisest king 
that ever ruled in the Promised Land says, “How long will 
fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves. 


230 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


He that trusteth in his riches shall fail.” Prov. i., il. “A 
covetous man shall not be satisfied with money.” Eccls. 
V. “The eye of the covetous man is insatiable in his por- 
tions of iniquity.” Eccli. xiv. “He that seeketh to be en- 
riched, turneth away his eye,” Ibid, xxvii. “For the in- 
iquity of his coveteousness I was angry.” Isa. Ixix. “I 
spoke to thee in thy prosperity, and thou saidst I will not 
hear.” Jerem. xxii. These are a few illustrations taken 
from the writings of Israel’s great prophets who stood on 
the lofty summit of vision and beheld the throne of love 
and justice where the angels of God dwell together as the 
brothers of the same household. 

Why did the teachers of the chosen people warn them 
against the perils of wealth? Because the amassment of 
wealth corrupts the seat of affection, begets avarice, ban- 
ishes charity from the human heart and dethrones God 
from the empire of the human soul. Place a person in the 
school of pugilism and he will develop his muscular power 
that he may excel in fistic encounters. Place him with 
the roving Scythians, and he will become an archer. Make 
eloquence the standard of great souls, and every man will 
study the art of swaying the thoughts and opinions of the 
multitudes by the charms of rhetoric and the grace of 
speech. So if you make money or wealth the key to 
power, we will strive to possess treasures of gold. 

This ambition produces another direful effect. As 
wealth becomes the magic wand of power in the world, 
poverty becomes a mark of reproach. Men shrink from 
poverty for two reasons. First it is the cause of sorrow 
and agonies that tax the endurance of the strongest char- 
acter. Hence they fear it and endeavor to avoid its pres- 
ence by the employment of every means. If they are not 
endowed with deep religious sentiments, they will trample 
on the moral law in their attempt to flee from the shadow 
of want and hunger. This is why our land is filled with 
dishonesty. This is why our jails have been built, and our 
scaffolds have been erected. This has introduced the 
haunts of vice into our cities, where the maiden blush of 
purity is sacrificed on the altar of lust. Would these fair 
young damsels sell their virtue to the roues of this shame- 
less and licentious age, were they not driven by the pangs 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


231 


of hunger to seek refuge in the temple of Venus? The 
matrons of our land complain of the marital infidelity of 
their husbands. If they would use their influence in the 
economic reformation of the country, no brothels would 
tarnish the purity of our great cities, and the homes of our 
people would be crowned with domestic bliss, and the 
firesides of the family would be consecrated by the love of 
husband and wife, and the devotion of sons and daughters. 
You never can reform the morals of an age, until you de- 
scend to the root of the evil, and eradicate the cause that 
has wrecked millions of lives, and disintegrated thousands 
of families. 

When men have succeeded in accumulating a com- 
petency, they feel their independence, and realize the in- 
fluence they wield in society. They at once entertain the 
dream of dominating the classes by the charm of their 
possessions, and onward they march in pursuit of the god- 
dess of fortune, through all the avenues of life, trampling 
every noble impulse of human nature under their feet 
when it cries out against their injustice, silencing the 
voice of conscience, closing their ears to the wails of 
widows and orphans created by their relentless march of 
iniquity from the altar of God to the throne of Mammon. 

The Crucified King relentlessly scores the accumula- 
tion of wealth as a source of evil. ‘For where thy treasure 
is, there is thy heart, also. No man can serve two masters, 
for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will 
hold to the one and despise the other.” Math, vi., 21. But 
the disciples of the Nazarene reply to this passage by 
stating that it is only the inordinate desire for wealth that 
is condemned by the Founder of Christianity. I answer 
the assertion by saying that there is always an inordinate 
desire of wealth, when its possessor revels in luxury while 
millions of willing workers are starving for bread. If you 
loved God, you could not devote your life to the acquisi- 
tion of wealth. You would expend the energies of mind 
and body in the elevation of humanity. You would be 
found in the cabin and the shanty, administering to those 
who are victimized by our social maladjustments. 

Again Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, I say to 
you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom 


232 


BEYOHD THE BLACK OCEAN 


of heaven/ And again, ‘I say to you: It is easier for a 
camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich 
man to enter into the kingdom of heaven/ Math, xix., 23. 
These quotations are sufficient to prove that Christ con- 
demned riches as the source of all evil. Yet His disciples 
to-day claim that it is the foundation of all blessings. You 
may steal, rob and murder; you may malign your neigh- 
bor and asperse the virgin brow of innocence; but if you 
have money, your iniquities are covered with the laurel 
wreath. The primitive Church of Christianity, inspired by 
the example of the Man of Sorrows, trampled on the al- 
lurements of wealth, and everywhere proclaimed the gos- 
pel of love and equality. The Roman senator and the 
Roman soldier, the Roman matron and the Roman noble, 
when once purified in the flood of regeneration, and dress- 
ed in the white robe of baptismal innocence, distributed 
their goods to feed the poor and to cover the naked. 

“ ‘Take heed and beware of all covetousness,’ says 
Christ, ‘for a man’s life doth not consist in the abundance 
of things which he possesseth.’ Luke xii., 15. ‘For they 
who would become rich fall into temptation, and into the 
snare of the devil and into many unprofitable and hurtful 
desires, which draw men into destruction and perdition.’ 
Tim. vi., 10. And yet men will expose themselves to these 
terrible temptations, these awful crimes, and the Church 
sanctions their actions. The lover of wealth rides through 
the blood of the millions to the temple of Mammon. The 
young man in the Gospel had kept the commandments 
from his youth, and yet Jesus says that there is another 
condition for salvation. He must distribute his goods to 
the poor. 

The early Fathers of Christianity taught Socialism as 
the doctrine of their Founder, and the primitive Church 
was a communism. The saints of old had no private 
property. ‘All is common with us, except women,’ says 
Tertullain. ‘We carry on us all we possess, and share 
everything with the poor,’ writes Justin. ‘The soil was 
given to the rich and the poor,’ says Ambrose. 
‘Wherefore, O ye rich! do you unjustly claim it for your- 
selves alone? Nature gave all things in common for the 
use of all. Usurpation created private right’ ‘Behold,’ 


BEROND THE BLACK OCEAN. 


233 


says St. John Chrysostom, ‘the idea we have of the rich 
and covetous: they are truly as robbers who, standing in 
the public highway, despoil the passerby; they convert 
their chambers into caverns in which they bury the goods 
of others.’ ‘It is no great thing,’ writes St. Gregory the 
Great, ‘not to rob others of their belongings, and in vain 
do they think themselves innocent who appropriate to 
their own use those things which God gave in common. 
By not giving to others that which they themselves re- 
ceived, they become homicides and murderers, inasmuch 
as keeping for themselves those things which would have 
alleviated the sufferings of the poor, we may say that they 
every day cause the death of as many persons as they 
might have fed and did not. When, therefore, we offer 
the means of living to the indigent, we do not give them 
anything of ours, but that which of right belongs to them. 
It is less a work of mercy we perform than the payment of 
a debt.’ 

“ ‘Unhappy ones that you are,’ says St. Basil, address- 
ing the rich. ‘What answer will you make to the great 
Judge? You cover with tapestry the bareness of your 
walls, and do not clothe the nakedness of men. You adorn 
your steeds with rich and costly trappings, and despise 
your brother who is in rags. You allow the corn in your 
granaries to rot, or be eaten up by vermin, and you deign 
not to cast a glance on those who have no bread. You 
hoard your wealth, and deign not to look on those who 
are worn and oppressed by necessity. You will say to me : 
‘What wrong do I commit if I hoard that which is mine?’ 
And I ask you, ‘Which are the things which you think 
belong to you? From whom did you receive them? You 
act like a man, who, being in a theater and having seized 
upon the place that others might have taken, seeks to 
prevent every one else from entering, applying to his own 
use that which should be for the use of all. And thus it is 
with the rich, who, having been the first to obtain posses- 
sion of those things which should be common to all, ap- 
propriate them to themselves, and retain them in their 
possession; for if each one took only that which is neces- 
sary for his subsistence, and gave the rest to the indigent, 
there would be neither rich nor poor.’ 


234 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


St. John Chrysostom said to the wealthy and luxurious 
people of Antioch and Constantinople: ‘You received 
your fortunes by inheritance; so be it. Therefore you 
have not sinned personally, but how know you that you 
may not be enjoying the fruits of theft and crimes com- 
mitted before you.’ This renowned saint and scholar 
could not conceive the idea that vast fortunes could be 
amassed without fraud or robbery, and his views were 
perfectly correct. Wealth is the result of toil. An article 
belongs to me in virtue of the fact that it is a creation of 
my labor. There is no other basis of property. Now, if 
a man emerges in one generation from a state of mendi- 
cancy to the exalted rank of a money king, owning mil- 
lions of dollars, he has certainly appropriated the earnings 
of other people. 

It was this conception of justice, this idea of eco- 
nomics, that all wealth is the result of labor expending its 
energies on natural resources and developing the hidden 
treasures of the earth, that inspired the utterances of the 
prophets of the Ancient Testament, and the warnings of 
Christ in the New Law. It was this knowledge that actu- 
ated the early Fathers in their d^enunciations of wealth. 
The Fathers did not condemn wealth in itself, but they 
knew, as St. John Chrysostom has said, that vast wealth 
could only be accumulated by fraud and monopoly and 
usury, and hence they condemned that which came not 
honesty into existence. 

Jacob Nehias began the struggle of life without a dol- 
lar, and he possessed two hundred millions when he died. 
Had he earned four dollars per day, it would have taken 
him fifty million days, or one hundred and sixty thousand 
years to accumulate that fortune. If Adam, the father of 
the human race, beginning life six thousand years ago, 
had continued on earth through all ages, and had saved 
thirty thousand dollars every year, he would have to live 
six hundred years more before his wealth would equal the 
sum left by Jacob Nehias. Rossheim’s annual income is 
thirty million dollars, equal to the sum paid to all the 
crowned heads of New Israel. Did these men honestly 
accumulate these fortunes? No, they stole them. 

“ They say to me,’ said Chrysostom, ‘will thou never 


KEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


23s 


cease from speaking ill of the rich? Still more anathemas 
against the rich! And I answer, Still your hardness 
against the poor/ The wealthy men of those days, like 
the millionaires of our own age, replied to these strictures 
of the golden-tongued orator from the shores of the Bos- 
phorus, ‘The poor deserve their lot. They are idlers who 
do not even wish to work ; noxious parasites, whom it 
would be better to do away with. Some of them, are simply 
beggars who speculate on people’s kindness of heart. No, 
God does not love the poor, for if He loved them He 
would remedy their misery.’ To these animadversions, 
the excellent prelate replied: ‘You say that the poor do 
not work, but do you work yourselves? Do you not en- 
joy in idleness the goods you have unjustly inherited? Do 
you not exhaust others with labor, while you enjoy, in 
indolence, the fruit of their misery?’ 

St. Jerome says that ‘opulence is always the result of 
theft, if not committed by the actual possessor, then by 
his predecessors. 

“Thus taught nearly all of the Fathers of the early cen- 
turies, and the great Church of Jesus Christ, in the purest 
ages of its existence, was a socialistic government. Aaron 
Nicholson has exposed his stupidity by speaking on a 
question of which he is totally ignorant, but on which he 
should be informed, for it is a question of ecclesiastical 
history.’’ 

Some people say that wealth is the incentive to exer- 
tion; but history contradicts this opinion. It was not 
wealth that inspired Leonidas and his three hundred Spar- 
tan heroes to sacrifice their lives in the Pass of Thermo- 
pylae. It was not wealth that nerved the heart of Miltiades 
to hurl back the Persian hosts from the plains of Mara- 
thon. It was not wealth that animated the Gallic legions 
at Tours to mow down the swarthy sons of the desert, and 
encircle the sword of Martel with a halo of glory. The 
sword of the Castilian deep-dyed the fertile plains of Anda- 
lusia with the blood of the Moor, tore down the Crescent 
from the heights of Granada, and erected the Cross on the 
towers of the Alhambra. But it was not gold that in- 
spired the conquering heroes. Rhodes shall live in the 
memory of all generations for the magnanimity of the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


236 

valiant Knights who repulsed the Ottoman hosts, and the 
name of Hunniades is eternally interwoven with the tri- 
umph of Belgrade. But the heroism of the Christian sol- 
diers was not inspired by the promise of wealth. 

It was not wealth that encouraged the patriotic peas- 
ants to meet and crush the Austrian legions in the moun- 
tain passes of Switzerland, and raise the flag of freedom 
above the snow-capped summits of the Alps. It was not 
wealth that consecrated Busceneth with the blood of Wal- 
lace and hallowed Bannockburn with the victory of Bruce, 
who drove the invader back beyond the Cheviot Hills. It 
was not wealth that inspired the Saxon earls to meet the 
tyrant at Runnymead and extort from him the Magna 
Charta, the foundation of English liberty. It was not 
wealth that created the Maid of Orleans, who went forth 
on her white charger, waving the banner of France, to 
defeat the leopards on the Loire, and place the diadem on 
the royal brow. It was not wealth that inspired Demos- 
thenes, who electrified the statesmen of Greece with his 
oratory. It was not wealth that created Petrarch and 
Tasso, Milton and Shakspeare. It was not wealth that in- 
spired the brush of Raphael and the chisel of Angelo. 

Let us appeal to the noblest passion of the heart to 
stimulate the human race to great and glorious feats. Let 
us appeal to love and philanthropy. Love was infused 
into the human soul with the breath of God, and it has 
created every oasis in the wilderness of life. It created the 
martyrs of the Coliseum and glorified the catacombs with 
incense and song and sacrifice. It filled the desert with 
the sighs and tears and prayers and praise of the anchor- 
ites. It brought hosts of youthful souls to the somber 
shades of the monastery, and buried hope and beauty in 
the solitude of the convent. It created an asylum amidst 
the horrors of the Alpine snows. It blessed the world 
with the angel of charity, who moved among the dead 
and dying on the battlefield, stanched the wounds of the 
fallen hero, and consoled his last moments with words of 
hope in the reality of a kingdom beyond the empire of the 
glittering stars. It sent missionaries over oceans and 
continents to bring the glad tidings of salvation to the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN tyj 

wildest haunts of men, and enfold benighted nations in 
the arms of God. 

The ambitions of men are as diverse as their charac- 
ters. Solomon prayed for wisdom, and considered it the 
greatest blessings that man could enjoy. Caesar would 
have sacrificed all the wealth in the world to be the first 
man in Rome. Demosthenes devoted his life to the study 
of oratory that he might win laurels in the councils of 
Grecian statesmen. Alexander wept when he heard of 
Philip’s victory, saying, “My father will conquer the world 
and leave nothing for me to accomplish.” Peter of Rus- 
sia toiled as an artisan in the factories of Holland to ac- 
quire knowledge that might advance the interests of his 
people. Alfred the Great lived in poverty and obscurity 
many years, that he might finally come forth from his re- 
treat and liberate his country from foreign bondage. 

The greatest men in the world have braved poverty, 
that they might leave the legacy of genius to rising gener- 
ations. Xylander Tasso, Ariosto, Bentivoglio, Du Ryer 
Vaugelas, Racine, Boileau, Dryden, Purchas, Marquis of 
Worcester, Rushworth, Rymer, Simon Ockley, Edmund 
Spenser, Cervantes, Camoens, Castel, Milton and Gold- 
smith, were men who felt the pangs of poverty. Money 
did not create Marco Polo, Galileo, Newton, Gutenberg, 
Homer, Virgil, Dante and Petrarch. But the capitalist 
says that these were merely a handful, and I reply that 
this handful have made the brightest page in the history 
of the world. 


CHAPTER XXVII. 

“I see that The Flaming Sword’ contains an account 
of Moses Gilhooley’s book,” remarked Mr. Einstein to 
Abraham McGillicuddy. 

“Yes,” replied the editor. “He promised the report to 
The Standard,’ but when he became aware of the fact 
that his son had been connected with The Flaming Sword’ 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


238 

he requested ‘The Standard’ to release him from his obli- 
gation, which was courteously conceded.” 

“Have you a copy of the journal with you?” asked Mr. 
Einstein. 

“Yes, but have you not read the account?” 

“No, I merely saw it mentioned this morning in the 
‘Herald’ that this week’s issue of ‘The Sword’ contained 
the long expected information of the trial of Moses Gil- 
hooley for heresy and treason before the Kurush Sanhe- 
drim.” 

“Well, here is a copy of the paper. Take your time 
and read every line of the trial. It is a fit exemplification 
of oriental despotism and barbarism.” 

Mr. Einstein bowed courteously and began to read 
the article, which was given a prominent place on the first 
page, and prefaced with glaring headlines. 

“Gilhooley in the Lion’s Den. Men must not think 
under the penalty of scorpion’s whips in this world, 
and eternal reprobation in the next. The Confederate 
chief finds a race of people who furnish the missing link 
between man and the ape. The Kurushan is half wolf, half 
bear, half man and half alligator, and the four halves make 
a respectable cross between a chimpanzee and a gibbon, a 
first cousin of the gorilla and a step-uncle of the baboon. 

“It was the feast of the transmigration,” wrote Gil- 
hooley, “commemorating their departure from Babylo- 
nian captivity, that the seventy elders assembled in the 
hall of judgment, to hear the evidence in the case of the 
rebellious foreigner who had dared to publish his thoughts 
without the permission of the official censor of the empire. 
I was brought from the dark dungeon, where I had lan- 
guished for several weeks, and taken before the venerable 
body distinguished for their long beards, flowing robes 
and empty heads. 

“The first charge was read by the secretary. ‘One 
Moses Gilhooley from the land of Toadia hath invaded 
cur country, and hath presumed to ignore our sacred tra- 
ditions and doctrines, by promulgating independent ideas 
which are not found in any of our learned books; and the 
said Gilhooley rashly undertook to publish these ideas 
without the consent of the elders or the King or the cen- 


BEYOND THE BLACE OCEAN 


239 


sor/ The chief of the Elders said: ‘Venerable brethren, 
this is an offense which deserves one year in solitary con- 
finement/ ‘We agree with you, Most Holy Chief.’ The 
second charge was read: ‘The said Gilhooley predicted 
the end of the world, and has vainly attempted to sub- 
stantiate his opinion by quotations from Christian writers/ 
‘How dare you express such thoughts when you should 
have known that the Sanhedrim has long ago decided that 
the empire of Kurush shall be eternal? For this offense 
you shall be led by a halter through the market square on 
the Sabbath day, when the multitude shall be assembled 
to behold your humiliation. What is the next charge?’ 
‘We find in his book the statement that Christianity reign- 
ed amidst the altars of Judaism, as if Judaism had any 
altars. We regard this as the recognition of the divinity 
of the Jewish religion.’ ‘Do you not know,’ said the Chief, 
‘that all divine blessings were withdrawn from Judah, and 
given to Israel at the time of the separation of the two 
kingdoms? God accepts the sacrifice of no other people 
but the Hebrew nation.’ 

“ ‘But in that expression I simply employed a figure of 
rhetoric,’ I said in my justification. ‘Yes, and for your 
impertinence we shall imprint a few figures on your naked 
back with the sting of the whip. Figures of rhetoric, in- 
deed! Who authorized you to employ figures? The next 
charge?’ ‘He claims that the kingdom of God is not yet 
perfect in its organization.’ Here I interposed to explain 
my meaning, but was immediately silenced by the Chief, 
who added another year to my punishment, and his breth- 
ren all exclaimed, ‘Amen.’ ‘The next charge?’ said the 
Chief. ‘He said that the most erudite Scriptural scholars 
of the first ages of Christianity believed in the ultimate 
restoration of God’s supremacy in the human heart.’ ‘One 
year in solitary confinement.’ 

“ ‘He claims that there are many forms of religion, 
and, therefore, indirectly denies the exclusive right of the 
Hebrew faith to the allegiance of all mankind.’ ‘I do not 
intend to admit the divine origin of sectarian denomina- 
tions,’ I said, ‘but merely spoke of them as heretical scions 
of the true Church.’ 

“ ‘We cannot accept your apology, Mr. Gilhooley,’ 


240 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


said the Chief. ‘You shall get two years imprisonment for 
your temerity.’ And the Elders confirmed the sentence 
by saying, ‘Amen !’ 

“ ‘He has taught that there should be no union be- 
tween Church and State.’ ‘One year’s imprisonment.’ 
‘Amen,’ said the Elders. ‘Next charge?’ 

“ ‘In times past there were vices among the Rabbis and 
the faithful, and many abuses were permitted by the Syna- 
gogue, resulting in a large measure from the union of ec- 
clesiastical and secular power.’ ‘Two years’ imprison- 
ment.’ ‘Amen,’ said the Elders. ‘Next charge?’ said the 
Chief. 

“ ‘He has quoted the works of Luke Halheim, the 
Simeonitic atheist, who says that the rebellion of the Is- 
raelitic sects against the Hebrew faith called the attention 
of the Elders to the depraved condition of morality, and 
thus the ancient creed was purified and renovated.’ ‘It is 
impossible to purify the work of God which is essentially 
perfect. One year on bread and water.’ ‘Amen!’ ex- 
claimed the court. ‘Next charge?’ said the Chief. 

“ ‘In distant centuries, when education was limited and 
ignorance and superstition were prevalent, many Hebrew 
writers were intolerant.’ ‘Five years in the chain-gang!’ 
‘Amen !’ ‘Read on !’ said the Chief. 

“ ‘People educated in the national creed and unac- 
quainted with other denominations, think that there is no 
salvation beyond the pale of the Synagogue.’ 

“ ‘I presume, then, Mr. Gilhooley,’ said the Chief, 
‘that if these people were familiar with the sects, they 
would see that salvation is not confined to the adherents 
of that venerable institution hallowed by the visions of the 
prophets ?’ 

“ ‘No, Rabbi, that is not my meaning. I merely in- 
tended to assert that God will pardon the crime of those in 
a state of invincible ignorance, and when the children of 
the divine creed comprehend the possibility of honest er- 
ror, they are willing to admit the sincerity of dissentients, 
and do not persecute them for wilful malice or perversity.’ 

“ ‘The heretic cannot plead invincible ignorance in 
palliation of his crimes, for God gives His light to all. But 
the children of wrath close their eyes to the divine efful- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


241 


gence, and they must be whipped into submission; and by 
means of the lash we shall convince you of the ways of 
truth and justice. One hundred stripes with the knout.’ 
‘Amen!’ ‘Read on,’ said the Chief. 

“ ‘Intolerance has been practiced in every part of the 
world; but we must not condemn religion for the crimes 
of its adherents. God never taught persecution. Bigotry 
is the child of ignorance, and when the nations are more 
enlightened, all people will dwell together in love and har- 
mony.’ ‘Holy Moses!’ cried the Elders, ‘do you hear that 
blasphemy? Can God and Satan inhabit the same land? 
It was no wonder our army was defeated at Killuk by the 
Karmites, for God wished to punish us for harboring a son 
of Belial in our realm. What sayst thou, O most holy and 
renowned Chief?’ 

“ ‘Five years more in the chain-gang, with a monthly 
administration of the knout, not exceeding forty lashes 
each time.’ 

“ ‘Hail glorious Chief! Thou art the defender of our 
ancient creed, consecrated by the breath of ages, hallowed 
by the reverence of one hundred generations.’ 

“ ‘Read the next charge,’ said the High Priest. 

“ ‘The synagogue consists of a human and divine ele- 
ment.’ 

“ ‘Hearest thou the blasphemy, thou spawn of hell! 
thou Christian dog! thou viper who has poisoned the at- 
mosphere of Kurush with thy iniquities? What sayest 
thou to this charge?’ 

“I replied that I accepted the divine institution of re- 
ligion, ‘but God had chosen men as His ministers, and in 
that respect the synagogue has a human character.’ 

“ ‘Thou infamous wretch! God lives in the syna- 
gogue, and the Holy of Holies is sanctified by the shadow 
of the Most High, and guarded by the wings of angels. For 
-this offense you shall be sent for five years to the frozen 
streams of Rebia, where your naked back shall be kept 
warm by the scourge of the warden. Next charge.’ 

“ ‘The Israelitic denominations have begotten some of 
the brightest minds in history.’ 

“ ‘Five years of penal servitude. Next charge.* 


242 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


“ ‘Israelism and Hebrewism have vied with each other 
in every department of lore/ 

“ 'Israelism is the school of demoniacal erudition. Five 
years more in the chain-gang. Next charge.’ 

“ The Bible should not be taught in the national 
schools.’ 

‘Five years more in the chain-gang. Next charge.’ 

“ ‘The king should not interfere with ecclesiastical ap- 
pointments, and the laity should be allowed to elect their 
Rabbis.’ 

“ ‘Five years more in the chain-gang.’ 

“ ‘Hebrewism is the oldest form of religion.’ 

“ ‘It is the only form of religion,’ said the Chief. ‘One 
year more for that offense,’ and to that sentence the Elders 
said, ‘Amen!’ 

“ ‘Next charge?’ asked the Chief. 

“ ‘The Rabbis should be less avaricious, less luxurious, 
and more zealous for the salvation of souls.’ 

“ ‘O ye holy prophets!’ exclaimed the Chief. ‘Ye an- 
gels of God, who look down from your starry thrones 
upon the children of men, why do ye not show your dis- 
pleasure with this reprobate by cutting off the hand that 
penned that blasphemy! Why do ye not pour out the 
wrath of heaven on this guilty soul, as the fire of ven- 
geance once consumed the iniquities of Sodom and Go- 
morrah ! How long, O Lord, how long shall our patience 
be abused! Thou hast called us to the sanctuary, and 
Holy of Holies, Thou hast chosen us, the sons of Levi, 
among all the tribes of Israel, and all the nations of the 
earth. Thou didst come down from heaven to give us 
orders how to make sacerdotal robes, and the sacred ves- 
sels. Thou ever watchest over us during the light of day 
and the silent somber depths of the night; Thy angels 
ever cast the shadow of their wings upon us, and the glory 
of Thy countenance ever beams upon our w^ay, and leads 
us into the path of truth and justice. Our words are 
formed by Thy holy inspiration, and our acts are ordained 
by the fiats of heaven. Hear, O God, the blasphemer who 
comes from a foreign land to inveigh against our sanctity 
and our authority. Wilt Thou not wave the sword of 
vengeance against his guilty head? Wilt Thou, O Lord, 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


243 


not show Thy power by opening the earth and swallow- 
ing this wretch down to hell as Thou didst punish Core, 
Dathan and Abiron? If Thou wilt not, then it is a sign 
that Thou leavest Thy judgment to the venerable Elders 
of the Sanhedrim. Gilhooley shall be tied to the portals 
of the synagogue from sunrise to sunset on the following 
Sabbath, and the crime shall be published from every 
housetop, and every faithful child of Abraham shall be re- 
quested to use the lash on the culprit, according to the 
measure of his deserts? Next charge?’ 

“ ‘He has criticized the morality of all nations, and 
made no exception of the people of Kurush.’ 

“ ‘One year more in the chain-gang. Next charge?’ 

“ ‘He has advocated Socialism.’ 

“ ‘Ten years more in the chain-gang. Next charge?’ 

“ ‘He has expressed his belief in the doctrine of evolu- 
tion.’ 

“‘Evolution? My God! kill the wretch!’ exclaimed 
the Elders.’ ‘No,’ said the Chief, ‘give him a slow death 
in the penal colony. Ten years more in the chain-gang. 
Next charge?’ 

“ ‘That is all, most holy Chief!’ 

“ ‘Is that all? Well, that is enough to damn a regi- 
ment of soldiers. Read the sentence to the council.’ The 
secretary said: ‘Most exalted Ruler of the Hebrew faith, 
and sublime and holy Chief of the Synagogue, I find that 
the verdict passed by your Highness, with the consent of 
the Sanhedrim, and the authority of the Royal Monarch, 
is sixty-five years of penal servitude, besides various 
scourgings at various times and places.’ 

.“Then the Chief arose and addressed the council. 
‘Venerable brethren, as this obscure wretch will not live 
sixty-five years, we will make his sentence a life term in 
the chain-gang, and give the warden strict orders to 
scourge him well and frequently.’ The Elders cried, 
‘Amen!’ 

The trial being completed, I was taken back to the 
dreary dungeon, and the next day was chained to a fellow 
convict, and started on my pilgrimage to the penal 
colony.” 


244 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


CHAPTER XXVIIL 

On the 20th of April, 1862, “The Flaming Sword” 
contained a lengthy discussion on the principles of free- 
dom in the government of nations. 

Man is endowed with will, memory and understand- 
ing. This triple power renders him akin to the divine 
spark, and adorns him with the blessed gift of immortal- 
ity. Animate nature is governed by immutable laws, in 
virtue of which the globes roll on in their orbits age after 
age, and there is not one discordant movement in “the 
eternal dances of the skies.” Irrational creation is ruled 
by instinct, which enables the thoughtless beast to pro- 
vide for his necessities and prolong his existence. But 
man is master of his actions, and can choose between good 
and evil. God promulgated his revelations and gave man 
the power of accepting or rejecting his laws, with the 
promise of eternal bliss or everlasting woe. 

In the savage state man obeyed the laws of nature, and 
his actions were not trammeled by positive enactments. 
Everybody was his own defender. In organized society, 
the individual relinquishes some of his rights for the ac- 
quisition of others. The government affords him protec- 
tion, and in compensation for this benefit, the individual 
gives his allegiance and support to the government. 

That is the best form of government which gives its 
members the greatest liberty and the greatest security. 
Since society is an aggregation of individuals, it follows 
that government cannot have any power not possessed 
collectively by its members. Therefore the authority of 
law comes from the will of the people. A despotism is a 
form of government, in which the ruler acquires his power 
from conquest, inheritance or some other way than 
through the will of the people governed. A republican 
form of government is one in which the people make laws 
through their representatives. A Socialistic form of gov- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN ^45 

crnment is one in which the people make their laws di- 
rectly. 

It is only when the people suffer from the loss of their 
rights that they rebel against the usurper and demand 
legislative amelioration. In the history of the world we 
have many examples of tyranny, and the people, goaded 
to desperation by oppressive measures, have wielded the 
power which nature gave them, and driven the despot 
from his throne. But it was not long before the new sov- 
ereign, feeling the independence of his position, followed 
the example of the dethroned monarch, and became a 
despot of the deepest dye. Then, after centuries of mis- 
rule, the people endeavored to correct the evils by chang- 
ing the system, and thus was instituted the representative 
government. Our fathers threw off the Danish yoke, and 
erected the temple of republican freedom, and enthroned 
the goddess of liberty. They thought they had achieved 
the grandest victory in the history of the world. But time 
has revealed the vanity of their dreams. 

We have not emancipated ourselves from the power of 
despotism, but have simply asserted the right to choose 
our masters. If our ruler is unjust, we can dethrone him 
at the expiration of his term, and elect another in his stead, 
who is independent the moment we clothe him with legis- 
lative authority. We have the right to elect the members 
of Congress, but the State Legislature reserves the power 
of electing the members of the national Senate. The peo- 
ple are supposed to be too ignorant to cast their votes in 
the election of those who fill the Upper House, but at the 
same time their intelligence is supposed to be sufficient 
to reveal their deficiency. 

Again, the voters do not elect the President, but 
merely the electoral college. But the majority of electors 
does not represent the majority of voters, and we have 
several cases in the history of Toadia where those polling 
a much larger popular vote were defeated in the electoral 
vote. The fathers of the Republic never dreamed of giv- 
ing complete control of the nation to the people. The 
foundation of our government was a compromise between 
the growing sentiment of freedom, which created the 
revolution, and the monarchical idea of New Israel, whose 


346 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


authority and institutions we had disowned. Political 
parties in the empire of Toadia was the development on 
the part of the people to have direct control of national 
as well as state legislation. Each party framed a plat- 
form, and by voting for that party the people thought 
that they were emphasizing their voice on the measures 
adopted in that platform. The history of this country has 
clearly proved that we cannot rely on the fidelity of the 
promises made by the party in its campaign for national 
supremacy in governmental affairs. 

I will offer a few illustrations of political infidelity and 
prostitution. The Congress of 1848 was elected on the 
issue of restoring the coinage of silver according to the 
basis existing previously to the year 1834 ; and instead of 
keeping its vow, it enacted the Blondmeyer Bill, providing 
for a more extensive circulation of the white metal. The 
Congress of 1852 was elected on the promise of remone- 
tization of silver, and it refused to discharge its obliga- 
tions to the public, and passed the Simon Compromise 
Bill. The Congress of 1854 was elected on the issue of the 
unlimited coinage of silver, and when once it was in power 
it was bribed by the money kings and repealed the only 
clause that favored the wishes of the people. This same 
Congress was elected on the platform declaring tariff a 
robbery, and pledging its service to demolish the wall of 
protection which had been created to despoil the many 
for the aggrandizement of the few, and as soon as the ses- 
sion opened the members sent for the representatives of 
the largest manufacturing establishments in Toadia, and 
asked them how much protection they wanted. 

What is the cause of the failure to secure legislation 
in harmony with the platform upon which the members of 
Congress are elected, when it is in the power of that Con- 
gress to grant the relief promised in the convention and 
the campaign ? The cause is easily sought. When a mem- 
ber of Congress is elected, his constituency has no fur- 
ther power over his actions in public affairs. The agents 
of the railroads, the manufacturers, and other vast cor- 
porations, are deputed to take their place in the lobby of 
the national capitol, and secure the passage of laws that 
will advance their interests. What is a million of dollars 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


247 


to a gigantic enterprise that realizes an annual profit of 
a hundred million ? Yet this million is a potent agency in 
the halls of Congress. The emissary approaches the pub- 
lic functionary and offers him ten thousand dollars for his 
vote. The official will look at the money and the possi- 
bility of re-election, and he will thus soliloquize : “I may 
be elected, even if I take this bribe, and I may not be 
elected if I refuse ; but in any case one bird in the hand is 
worth two in the bush and thus he sacrifices the inter- 
ests of his constituency on the altar of Mammon. 

The best way to make a man honest is to remove temp- 
tation from his path. If there were no one to offer the 
bribe, there would be no one to accept it, and when the 
nation has direct control of legislation, it will be impossi- 
ble to bribe the voters, for their number is so great that 
no corporation could afford to buy them; and, besides, 
each one is looking for his individual interest, and will 
not sell his vote unless he can get as much for it as the 
advantages that would accrue to him from the passage 
of the law which he advocates. Again, with our secret 
ballot, the voter can take the bribe, and yet be at freedom 
when the question is submitted to the public. Some one 
may say, in answer to this statement, that no honorable 
man would refuse to vote according to the will of the 
person who had purchased his vote. I reply to this ob- 
servation that no honorable man would sell his vote, and, 
when we are dealing with dishonorable men, we must 
judge of their actions in certain cases, not according to 
the standard of moral rectitude, but we must presume 
that they will disregard the dictates of conscience, and 
frame their conduct in harmony with their personal in- 
terests. 

In an infant nation, or in a country of limited dimen- 
sions and a small population, the interests of the people 
do not involve great and diverse problems ; and the voters 
usually find their opinions embodied in the platform of 
one of the political parties. When there is only one ques- 
tion, each party will either espouse the affirmative or neg- 
ative side of this question; and the people can express 
their opinion by voting for the party which defends their 
views, and if the representatives are faithful in the dis- 


248 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


charge of their obligations, there will be no difficulty. We 
will presume, for the sake of illustration, that the Liberals 
declare in favor of free trade, and the Protectionists for 
high tariff. At the polls the voters, in favor of free trade, 
would vote for the party which advocates free trade ; and 
those in favor of tariff would vote for the party advocating 
tariff. The party elected would signify the passage of 
the law advocated in the platform. 

In a highly developed state, and in a nation of vast 
magnitude in the number of its people, and the extent of 
its dominions, the diversity of interests will call for the de- 
cision of many questions, and a complication of interests 
will arise. Let us presume that there are four measures 
presented to the public — A, B, C and D. Party number 
one advocates all these measures and Party number two 
opposes all of these. Voter number one advocates all 
these measures and he can express his opinion by voting 
for Party number one. Voter number two antagonizes all 
these measures, and he can voice his views by voting for 
Party number two. Voter number three favors the first 
proposition, and opposes the other three. He cannot ex- 
press his opinion at the polls, for he must vote for three 
measures which he does not espouse, to secure the one he 
advocates. V oter number four favors the first two prop- 
ositions and opposes the last two. Thus it is easily seen 
that the voters can not always express their opinion on 
all the questions embodied in the platform of the party. 

Moreover, a little reflection will readily convince the in- 
telligent reader that a measure may often become a law 
against the will of the majority. We will suppose that 
Party number one stands for free trade, free silver and 
prohibition, and Party number two for the gold stand- 
ard, protective tariff and high license. A, B and C favors 
free silver ; B, C and D favor free trade ; D, C and A favor 
prohibition ; D alone favors gold standard and A alone 
favors protective tariff ; B alone favors license. A votes 
Tor Party number two, because he regards protection a 
necessity for the development of most of our industries, 
and he is willing to sacrifice free silver and prohibition to 
accomplish this. B votes for Party number two, because 
he regards high license the remedy for drunkenness, and 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


249 


he is willing to sacrifice free trade and free silver for this 
purpose; D will vote for Party number two, because he 
believes the gold standard is the only safe financial basis, 
and he will relinquish all other questions for this. Party 
number one will be defeated by a vote of three to one, 
though each question embodied in its platform was fa- 
vored by three-fourths of all the voters. 

The representative system does not provide for a gov- 
ernment by the people, and the delegation* of power to a 
few legislators is the source of political corruption; and 
thus the interests of the people are sacrificed for personal 
advantages offered to their lawmakers. These evils are 
avoided in a Socialistic government where people legislate 
for themselves. Self-interest will inspire every man with 
a sense of duty, and thus corruption will be entirely re- 
moved from the arena of politics. The people would have 
an opportunity to vote directly on every question without 
being hampered by party platforms and political affilia- 
tions. 

But how can direct legislation by the people be accom- 
plished ? There need be no radical change in our legisla- 
tive system. The officials will be nominated and elected 
as they are at present, with the single exception that every 
candidate may enter the field without the sanction of party 
conventions. But when officials are elected they are not 
endowed with unlimited authority, but are subject to the 
voice of the people by the employment of the Initiative 
and Referendum. In some states of Toadia, and, also, in 
Other parts of the world, when the legislature fails to 
enact the laws desired by a number of the people, the lat- 
ter can submit a petition signed by a certain percentage 
of the voters, and the legislature is compelled, in virtue of 
this demand, to pass the law desired. This is called the 
Initiative, because the people take the initiative step in 
legislation. But this enactment cannot have the force of 
a law until it is submitted to the people at the general 
election, and only becomes a law when adopted by the 
majority of the qualified voters. 

Under direct legislation, the legislature proceeds- to 
pass laws in conformity with the will of the people so far 
as that can be ascertained. It may often happen that a 


250 


BEYOND THE BLACK OGEAN 


measure is supposed to have the approval of the majority, 
when it is desired by only a small minority. The law is 
not immediately promulgated, but a period of about sixty 
days is given to the people to protest against the enact- 
ment. During this period the enactment is published sev- 
eral times in all the daily and weekly papers, and the pro- 
visions are fully explained. In the meantime, a petition 
signed by a certain percentage of the people, demanding 
a popular vote on the question, is presented to the legisla- 
tive body ; the law is at once suspended in its operations 
until it is referred to the will of the voters at the next gen- 
eral election. If there is no petition presented within the 
specified time, the law goes into effect. This is called the 
Referendum, because the enactment is referred to the 
judgment of the people at the polls. 

Within the time elapsing between the election, several 
questions may have been submitted to the legislature, and 
these are written on a separate ballot, and the people vote 
directly on these measures. The questions agitated by the 
various political parties could be determined by popular 
vote at the election of the candidates, and this would fa- 
cilitate legislative affairs. We will presume that the Lib- 
erals adopt free silver, free trade and anti-imperialism; 
the Protectionists, the gold standard, high tariff and im- 
perialism ; the Single Tax party adopts the land tax, and 
the Socialists advocate government ownership of trusts. 
According to our present system, the gold standard ad- 
vocate might favor government ownership of the trusts, 
but he must sacrifice the one to get the other, as each ques- 
tion is supported by a different party, and what is advo- 
cated by the Protectionists is repudiated by the Socialists. 
I could give many other illustrations, but this is sufficient 
for our purpose. Under direct legislation, the names of 
the parties and their candidates would be written on one 
ballot, and the measures contemplated by the various par- 
ties would be contained on a distinct ballot, and the voter 
could write yes or no after each measure, or he could 
make a cross after the measure which he advocates, and 
the absence of this sign would indicate his repudiation of 
the other measures. The ballot would be made in this 
fashion ; 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


251 


Do you vote for : 

Free Silver? X 

Gold Standard? 

Government ownership of trusts? 

Single Tax? X 

Imperialism ? 

Anti-imperialism? X 

High Tariff? 

Free Trade? 

Here are eight questions, and the cross indicates that the 
voter advocates Free Silver, Single Tax and Anti-im- 
perialism, and consequently opposes all the other ques- 
tions on the ballot. The election being over, the candi- 
dates having the largest popular vote will hold the offices 
to which they aspired, and the questions favored by the 
majority of people at the polls will become laws imme- 
diately on the opening of the next session of the legisla- 
ture. The office of the legislators will merely consist in 
flaming these laws, and passing others which may seem 
of general interest to the commonwealth, but their power 
shall be limited at all times by the Initiative and Refer- 
endum.’’ 

The question of direct legislation, as advanced by ‘‘The 
Flaming Sword,” seems to be the key for the solution of 
political questions. This system has long existed in Swit- 
zerland, and the results have been very successful. It has 
also been introduced into some parts of France in spite 
of the laws and constitution. The municipal law of 1^4, 
which gave a third of the citizens a right to demand an in- 
quest, was easily extended by the municipalities when 
doubtful matters arose. The citizens of Paris have been 
so consulted on two occasions : In 1892 on the meeting 
with the gas company ; in 1895 on the construction of the 
Metropolitain. 

In Belgium, Mr. Beernhaert has asked for the consti- 
tutional Referendum. In England, Sir William Harcourt 
has demanded local option. In Italy a whole party has 
adopted and works for the municipal Referendum ; to 
some extent workingmen’s organizations vote on strikes 
and retaliation. This has been seen at Arras and Lens in 
October, 1894; in Bordeaux in 1892, on the eight-hour 


252 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


question ; at Amiens, in the Borinage, in September, 1893, 
and in the county of Durham, in England, during the 
same period. 

The Initiative and the Referendum have been adopted 
in the State of South Dakota since February 27, 1899. 
According to the provisions of that law a petition signed 
by five per cent of the electors shall be accepted by the leg- 
islature, and that body shall be authorized tO' pass the 
enactment contained in the petition, which shall be sub- 
mitted to the vote of the electors of the State at the next 
general election. “If the majority of all the votes cast 
both for and against the measure so enacted and submit- 
ted be for the measure, it shall become a law of the State 
of South Dakota, and shall go into effect and be in force 
immediately after the results shall have been determined 
by the officers authorized by the law to determine the 
same. Any law which the legislature may have enacted, 
except laws which may be necessary for the immediate 
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, sup- 
port to the state government and its existing institutions, 
shall, upon the filing of a petition, as hereinafter provided, 
be submitted to a vote of the electors of the State at the 
next general election. Said petition shall be signed by 
not less than five per cent of the qualified electors of the 
State.” 

Direct legislation has been adopted by the State of 
Oregon. Not more than eight per cent of the legal voters 
is sufficient to force the passage of any measure by the 
legislature, which is then submitted to the people at the 
next general election. “Initiative petitions shall be filed 
with the Secretary of the State not less than four months 
before the election at which they are to be voted on.” A 
petition signed by five per cent of the voters may demand 
the Referendum, which shall be filed with the Secretary 
of State not more than ninety days after the adjournment 
of the legislature which passed the said bill. 

Direct legislation has been employed in the towns of 
New England, and efforts have been made to introduce 
the system into the States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, 
Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, North Dakota, Michigan, Ok- 


BEYONK THE BLACK OCEAN 353 

lahoma, California, Utah and some other States, and sev- 
eral cities. 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

“Good morning, Mr. Lohman. Come in and take a 
seat.” 

“Thank you, Mac. I see you are smoking a fine ci- 
gar?” 

“Yes, this is an Ammonite. Try one. It is not often 
now that we get the pure stuff, since the Toadian govern- 
ment has plundered the island.” 

“That is true, Mac. The war against Reuben was a 
humbug, waged for game, as you once wrote in ‘The 
Flaming Sword.’ ” 

“Gil and I always regarded the affair a political move- 
ment to advance the interests of a certain class, and I think 
that time has proved the truth of our statement. What ad- 
vantages have the Ammonites derived from our rule? 
They are daily robbed of their rights, and their liberties 
are ignored. They were in a far better condition under 
the Reubenic flag.” 

“I see that Mrs. Reisan has returned to Deboreh.” 

“Is that so? When did she return?” 

“Last Thursday,” said Lohman. 

“And where is Reisan?” 

“I don’t know. He has never been seen since he left 
Deboreh. People say that he got a divorce to let his wife 
marry Jesse.” 

“Lohman, do you believe that Jesse married that 
woman?” asked Abraham. 

“Well, it was generally supposed that they would be 
married when they left together; but since her return peo- 
ple have their peculiar views about the matter. It is my 
honest conviction that Jesse is a scoundrel, and that he 
deluded Mrs. Reisan with the promise of marriage in 
order -to rob her of her wealth.” 


354 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


“Why, he seemed to be very wealthy, said McGilli- 
cuddy. “I know that he spent money profusely.” 

“It is very true that he had money, and as you say, 
spent it lavishly; but I think that he obtained it on the 
strength of his title and his face,” observed the shrewd 
Lohman. “I think that he is a member of a ruined fam- 
ily, and he turned his head toward Toadia, where the smile 
of a lord is worth millions. Before Mrs. Reisan left she 
employed Mr. Rosenbaum as an agent to take charge of 
her property, and since then she has sold several valuable 
properties, which realized over eight hundred thousand 
dollars, and perhaps she has drawn on her bank stock for 
several hundred thousand more. Now you know that she 
did not invest that money in Dan, where profits are not 
more than one-third of what they are in this country. 

“Besides, since her return, she has nothing but words 
of abuse for Lord Jesse. There is something very strange 
about her entire conduct. A few days ago she told Mrs. 
Gehtheimer that Lord Jesse borrowed a large sum from 
her, and then left for South Arabia to watch the move- 
ments of the war, and invest her money in the diamond 
and gold fields of Jonas. He represented to her that in a 
short time the stock would be one hundred per cent above 
par. She complained that after Lord Jesse arrived in 
Jonas she never heard from him again.” 

“That seems suspicious,” said McGillicuddy. 

“I learned from a friend that Mrs. Gehtheimer and 
Mrs. Reisan were consoling each other in heaping abuse 
on the head of the Danish nobleman. I would judge from 
what I know of the case that Jesse deceived both women. 
He promised to marry Lucile Gehtheimer, and, also, Mrs. 
Reisan, and his motive in both cases was to obtain pecu- 
niary assistance.” 

“In referring to Jonas,” said Abraham, “you remind 
me of the recent exploit of an adventurous spirit who has 
invented an air-ship which he is using with dreadful re- 
sults on the Danish hosts.” 

“I saw some mention of the invention, but have no 
definite idea of the nature of the machine, or how it is ap- 
plied to warfare.” 

“The daily papers are anxious to conceal the facts in 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


2^55 

the case, because it thwarts their ambition, to see the su- 
premacy of Danish power destroyed in Arabia. The 
triumph of the Jonites signifies the burial of the Danish 
empire; and our journals are controlled by the imperialists 
in this country, and that is the reason that the tidings of 
recent developments have ben so completely ignored. 1 
have the latest dispatches from the seat of war, and the 
entire story will be published in this week’s issue of ‘The 
Flaming Sword.’ ” 

“How is the air-ship constructed, Mac?” 

“The air-ship, or machine, I should say, as it is a small 
piece of mechanism, suitable to convey perhaps ten or 
twelve men, is propelled by electricity; and its motion is 
controlled by wings attached to the machine. A dynamo 
of powerful force, which draws its supply of electricity 
from the air, on the same principle as the lightning rod 
absorbs the electrical current, is placed in the interior of 
the ship, and as rapidly as the electrical current is drawn 
to the dynamo, there is an apparatus called the receiver, 
by which this force is stored away in a receptacle, and 
can afterward be used at the option of the conductor, by 
means of a crank. When the crank is turned on, the elec- 
trical force gives motion to the ship. There is a lever 
which directs the wings of the ship, and the conductor 
can take any direction, either up or down, or toward any 
point of the compass, according to the angle which he 
gives to the wings of the machine. The ship travels about 
two hundred miles an hour and is perfectly safe.” 

“Who is the inventor of this machine?” 

“His name is Paddy Eisenheimer.” 

“Is he a native of South Arabia?” 

“The dispatches do not make mention of his nation- 
ality, but some people think he is a Toadian. More than 
one year ago an air-ship was seen passing through our 
western States, and it was later observed in the north. 
You remember, of course, the accounts given by the press 
at the time?” 

“Yes, I read the report, but it was regarded by most 
readers as a canard. In fact, the papers ridiculed the idea, 
calling it preposterous.” 

“But it seems that it must have been true, for a few 


356 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


weeks afterward it made its appearance in Asher, then in 
Zabulon and several other places. I also remember that 
a dispatch from South Arabia stated that this air-ship had 
sailed over the Danish dominion and reconnoitered, as it 
was presumed, the position of the Danish forces. This 
was advanced to explain the fact that the Jonites antici- 
pated the movements of the invading army, and preserved 
their hosts from annihilation by seeking refuge in the 
fortified towns and in the mountain passes. The Danish 
generals have made more than a dozen strategical efforts 
to entrap the enemy, but in every case they have been 
astonished to ascertain that their movements have been 
rported to the Jonites, and their purposes were completely 
foiled. And in each case, previously to the execution of 
their plans, the Danites noticed the air-ship hovering over 
their forts and camps.'’ 

“What new developments have ueen discovered in the , 
movements of the air-ship?” 

“Eisenheimer has lately invented a bomb oi dreaa- 
fully explosive power, which he carries with him in his 
machine, and when over the enemy, he drops it on them, 
and on striking the ground the concussion causes detona- 
tion.” 

“What is the nature of the bomb?” 

“That is yet unknown, but it is far more disastrous in 
its consequences than the Grecian Fire. The other day, 
Eisenheimer sailed over Delean, where five thousand sol- 
diers were encamped, and he dropped one bomb, which 
killed every person and destroyed every building within 
a radius of five hundred feet. There is also a poisonous 
ingredient which pollutes the atmosphere perhaps within 
a circumference of several miles, for those that were be- 
yond the immediate reach of the explosive power of the 
bomb died in less than two hours from poison, and they 
can only explain the mystery by attributing it to the dead- 
ly composition of the explosive.” 

“That will destroy the empire of Dan in South Ara- 
bia.” 

“It is more than probable that it will change the policy 
of the nations of the earth, for with a ship armed with such 
explosives, one power will have no advantage over an- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


257 


Other, and the governments of the world will advocate 
disarmament, and adopt an international court of arbitra- 
tion as the means of adjusting disputes instead of appeal- 
ing to the sword.” 

“I hope so, Mac. If this proves an ultimate success, 
then the bloody chariot of Mars will never more disturb 
the peace of nations and fill the world with the cry of 
battle, and stain the valleys with the purple dye of human 
gore. As soon as ‘The Flaming Sword^ appears, I will 
read the news which you promise. Good-morning, Mac.” 

“Good-morning, Lohman. Call again.” 

“Thank you I will.” 

CHAPTER XXX. 

A few weeks later news reached Toadia that the flying 
ship, loaded with demons of death and destruction, had 
annihilated the Danish armies in South Arabia, demol- 
ished their navy and swept the wreck from the bosom of 
the deep. The great statesman who had directed the policy 
of the empire for a quarter of a century stood aghast at 
the awful havoc that had been made within a few weeks. 
That magnificent navy which had been the queen of the 
ocean and the mistress of the deep for over a century; 
that navy which had swept every sea and borne the na- 
tional emblem to every shore, and which every power 
feared as the undisputed ruler of the waves; that navy, 
crowned with a hundred glorious battles, was no more. 
It had perished within a month, and the glory of the 
Danish name and dominion had vanished from the sea, 
and the foaming surge now swept over the wreck of their 
steel-clad ships and chanted the requiem of the buried 
fleets. 

The army, too, which had won immortal honors on 
many a field of carnage, and filled the capital of the nation 
with trophies from every land, had been destroyed, and 
the bones of heroes lay bleaching beneath the torrid sun 
of South Arabia, and on the sultry plains of Media, and 
amidst the mountains of Schylon and far away on the bor- 
ders of Ebbonia and by the rills and streams of Cushia. 

No more shall the roar of the Lion echo among the 
vine-clad hills of Jonas! No more shall he paw the dust 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


258 

of the desert, or climb the rocks of the mountains, and 
send a chill through the savage tribes of the Orient. His 
day of supremacy is gone. His triumph is ended. His 
reign has come to a close. Every colony ruled by the 
Danish queen has shaken off the yoke, and the mighty 
potentate of the earth weeps over the fall of her throne and 
of her empire. Lord Aran had awakened from his dream. 
The Eagles will not be chased from their eyry amidst the 
mountain crags of Toadia, and Lord Uriah, the son-in- 
law of Rosenberger, will not wear the diadem of the new- 
born empire beneath the stars of the west. Every colony 
of that vast empire, that encircled the globe two months 
ago, has declared its independence; and Ephraim, which 
had suffered for three centuries from the most heartless 
persecutions in the history of the world, has established a 
republic, and her ambassador will soon present his cre- 
dentials to the Secretary of State in the capital of Toadia. 
The old world has been swept away, and new powers have 
ben erected on the ruins that mark the path of the war 
god. Man proposes, but God disposes. The capitalists of 
Toadia never dreamed of this change in the history of the 
nations. Already they were weaving the crown for the 
royal head, and depending on the mailed hosts of the Dan- 
ish empire to assist them in crushing the people in their 
march to royalty. 

Abraham McGillicuddy was elated over the success of 
the Jonites, and went to Mr. Einstein’s to see his affianced, 
and to have a talk with her father on the current events. 
The family was also jubilant over recent developments in 
South Arabia, and more than all, they had received a letter 
from Biddy. Mr. Einstein read the letter to Abraham. The 
young heroine related the story of their delivery, and the 
liberation of the struggling Republic through the efforts 
of Mr. Eisenheimer. The Danish sued for peace, and not 
only vacated the city of Zapling, but promised to abandon 
forever their purposes in South Arabia. 

“The jail in the capital was thrown open,” wrote Miss 
Einstein, “and the prisoners once more breathed the aL 
mosphere of freedom. Mr. Eisenheimer is the most re- 
markable man that has ever lived in the world’s history. 
He appeared here about a year ago, and made known hia 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


159 


purpose to the people of this Republic, and his services 
were accepted. The air-ship was of incalculable advan- 
tage to us in keeping the warriors informed as to the posi- 
tion of the enemy. But the inventive genius of Eisen- 
heimer did not stop with the construction of the ship. He 
conceived the idea of hurling explosives from his winged 
vehicle on the heads of the invaders, and the world is now 
familiar with the success of his enterprise. The war is 
over. The hosts of the Danish empire have been anni- 
hilated, and their colors have been trailed in the dust. Ah ! 
may it be a lesson to our native land. May the Eagles 
never float over the citadels of other nations except in the 
cause of freedom. May the Toadian legions be withdrawn 
from Heron and Ammon. May war be banished from 
every land, and all nations live in the bonds of brotherly 
love. I will be home again in a few months. Good-by. 

“Your loving Biddy.” 

“It will be a lesson to this nation,” said Abraham, “and 
a timely lesson. Had it not been for the reverses of the 
Danish forces in this unjust aggression in the republic of 
Jonas, I think we would have had some trouble in our 
coming election.” 

While this conversation was taking place in the Ein- 
stein mansion, Mr. Nehlmeyer stepped in and announced 
the fact that Lord Jesse and Elija Murphy had been ar- 
rested for the murder of Teddy. 

“The murder of Teddy!” exclaimed Mr. Einstein. “Is 
it possible? Where was Jesse arrested?” 

“In Rubek,” replied Mr. Nehlmeyer, “by an agent of 
the Soloman Detective Agency. He has been shadowing 
him since he left here with Mrs. Reisan, and after his de- 
parture, Mrs. Gehtheimer gave some hints that were fol- 
lowed up by the detectives.” 

“Murder cannot be concealed,” said Mr. Einstein, 
“and I knew that the day would come when the shadow 
of suspicion would be lifted from the character of Isaac 
Gilhooley, and the crime fastened on the guilty party.” 

“I made that prediction at the time,” said Abraham. 

In their anxiety to learn more of the details, the gentle- 
men left the house, and went down to the hotel, where 
more than a thousand people had assembled to hear the 


26 o 


EYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


news that had created the greatest sensation that Deboreh 
had experienced in many years. 


CHAPTER XXXI. 

One evening in the early part of May, 1863, an audi- 
ence that represented the thinking element of Deboreh 
assembled in the Music Hall, for it was known that Abra- 
ham McGillicuddy would deliver a lecture on the attitude 
of the Church on the question of Socialism. The young 
reformer was introduced, with a few appropriate remarks, 
by the Mayor of the city, who had won the victory on the 
Socialistic ticket at the last election. McGillicuddy at 
once launched forth into his subject, and for nearly two 
hours his matchless eloquence held the immense throng 
in a trance. The following is a synopsis of his speech: 

The Church is preaching a crusade against Socialism. 
She claims that Socialism is identical with atheism, and I 
am here to-night to disprove this accusation. Individual- 
ism is responsible for all the crimes falsely attributed to 
Socialism. The Savior teaches that if you have two coats, 
give one to your neighbor, and individualism hoards up 
millions while the nation is clothed in rags and is dying 
of hunger. Dives was an individualist and Lazarus was 
a Socialist, and when the former died he went to a country 
where he was never afflicted with frozen feet, and where 
all the gold in the world would not purchase a drop of 
water. Lazarus died and was borne by bandS’ of winged 
seraphim to the bright elysian fields, where the glory of 
Socialism fills every soul with light and every heart with 
joy. 

The Bible says love your neighbor as yourself, and in- 
dividualism says, kill your neighbor to glorify yourself. 
Individualism engenders hatred. The Gospel teaches that 
you should do unto others as you wish that others should 
do unto you; and individualism says, do others before 
they do you. The Church is very anxious about the sal- 


BEYOND THE ELACK OCEAN 


261 


vation of the poor man, and she claims that the oniy way 
to save the poor man is to work him hard and feed him 
little. 

The Redeemer said that the great commandment of 
the law is to ‘‘love God with thy whole heart, and the sec- 
ond is like unto the first, love thy neighbor as thyself. 
Upon these two commandments depend the whole law 
and the prophets.'’ This was the object of the creation. 
It was for this purpose that the Almighty studded the uni- 
verse with dazzling suns and flaming orbs, and glittering 
stars, that intelligent beings placed in the universe of cre- 
ation, might arise in their contemplations from this pano- 
rama of glory to the throne of Omnipotence, where, in- 
flamed with the ethereal fires of love, they might pour out 
their heart’s affection on every form of rational life. It 
was for this purpose that the footsteps of God echoed 
through the groves of the terrestrial paradise, and the whis- 
pers of the Infinite filled the soul of primeval man with the 
truth of the first revelation. It was for this purpose that 
prophets were illuminated with the knowledge begotten in 
the mind of Uncreated Wisdom, and beaming with the 
light of the eternal court, and speaking with the voice of 
inspiration, poured out their songs on the mountain peaks 
of Israel. It was for this purpose that the vision of the 
Messiah haunted the dreams of the ancient seers, and a 
Virgin conceived and brought forth a Son to glorify the 
world with deeds and words of love. It was for this pur- 
pose that the angels sang peace and good will to men on 
earth, when the infant cry of Bethlehem’s Babe announced 
the fulfillment of the ancient promises. 

The life of Christ from the cradle to the tomb was a 
sermon on the law of love. If we follow Him in His 
lonely walks along the shores of Genesareth, or among 
the hills of Galilee, or in the throng that heard Him preach 
His famous sermon on the mount, we see that every word 
and every sigh, every look and every act, is prompted by 
the sweet impulse of love. “He that hateth his brother is 
a murderer,” and when the shadows of death were gather- 
ing around Him on the summit of Calvary, when the 
rabble reveled in His blood, when Barabbas was liberated 
that the multitude might crucify the Nazarene, He raised 


262 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


His voice and cried from the depths of His heart, “Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He es- 
tablished His Church, and sent it forth to conquer the 
world by the law of love. 

But individualism has been the enemy of religion. It 
destroys love, creates castes, subverts liberty, establishes 
despotism, and violates every commandment of God. The 
Almighty proclaimed the unity of the divine essence on 
the flame-lit mountain peak of Arabia, and told the chosen 
race to abandon the idols of Egypt and the altar of Mo- 
loch, and the groves of Astarthe. We are taught by the 
inspired voice of the Galilean to repose our confidence in 
Divine Providence. We are warned not to think of what 
we shall eat or drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed, 
for after these things do the heathens seek. “Be not solici- 
tous for to-morrow, for to-morrow will be solicitous for 
itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.” “Con- 
sider the ravens, for they sow not, neither have they store- 
house nor bams, and God feedeth them. How much are 
you more valuable than they? Consider the lilies how 
they grow. They labor not, neither do they spin. But I 
say to you not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed 
like one of these. Now if God clothe in this manner the 
grass, how much more you, O ye of little faith?” God 
has filled nature with potent energies, that respond to 
man’s labor and cover every hill with verdant robes, and 
every field with golden grain, and yet millions are starv- 
ing, and walk the street in rags. Individualism is respon- 
sible for all these ills, and yet it pretends to worship at the 
altar of God. 

Individualism has destroyed the purposes of the Cre- 
ator, when He filled the world with abundance. If every 
one would take what he needs and no more, there would 
be plenty for all; but individualism claims that a few 
should monopolize the wealth of the nation, and the 
masses should live in poverty. Time is short and eternity 
is long. The Creator suffers man to abuse His gifts, but 
at the hour of death. He will hurl His anathemas against 
those who have robbed the poor of their iabor and dis- 
inherited the millions. 

Ladies and gentlemen, there is a hell, and it was not 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


263 


made for cats and dogs. The individualists tells the beg- 
gar that God wishes him to suffer. “He wishes some to 
be poor and some to be rich, some to be masters and some 
to be slaves. When God condemned riches, He merely 
meant the bad use of riches. I make good use of my 
wealth, for I support so many who would starve if I did 
not employ them. As for Christ, He never possessed any 
wealth, and He did not know the value of wealth.” The 
poor are losing their faith in God, for the Church, which 
pretends to be the exponent of heaven’s fiats, sanctions all 
the wrongs that are inflicted on them. When ministers 
look on and see the laborers robbed, and sanctify the rob- 
bery with scriptural quotations, are you surprised that 
the laborer hates the minister and the religion that he 
preaches? The beggar goes to Church on Sunday, and he 
hears the preacher expatiating on the necessity of eternal 
punishment, and he concludes that God could occupy His 
time more profitably in settling the labor problem than in 
making a hell. Hunger is hell enough for him. 

The second commandment reads, “Thou shalt not take 
the name of God in vain.” You must ever praise the name 
of Jehovah, who led the hosts of Israel from the flaming 
sands of the Nile, across the wilderness to the Land of 
Promise. The poor woman sits on your doorstep in the 
cold, chilly blast of winter. She looks in through the win- 
dow and sees the blazing fire and happy children with 
dimpled faces basking in a mother’s smile. She thinks of 
her lonely, dark, cold and cherless cabin. She thinks of 
the little garret where her babes are starving and freezing, 
and she begs the crumbs that fall from your table. She 
asks you to feed and clothe her little ones, and you tell 
her that God wishes her to suffer. All cannot be rich. Go 
home to your miserable hut and thank the Almighty that 
you are living. 

Go with me into the slums of this great city, enter into 
those desolate abodes, and you hear the sobs of grief and 
the sighs of anguish, the overflowing of sorrow-stricken 
hearts, the wailing of forlorn souls. It is more pitiful than 
the lamentations of Jeremiah over the dispersion of Israel 
and the desecration of her temple. There you find a whole 
family living in one room. Enter that miserable habita- 


264 BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 

tion, and what do you see? By the dim light of the flicker- 
ing flame that seems to weep over the sorrow of that 
home, and mingle its tears with the tears of its lonely in- 
mates ; by the glimmering of the waning fire you behold a 
pallid-faced woman and several little children. Upon the 
brow of the mother is the furrow of care, and her silvery 
tresses would indicate that she is far advanced down the 
valley of years. But you learn that she is a woman of less 
than two score summers; yet the hand of sorrow has 
hastened the sun of her existence, and the shadow of age 
reaches out to the borders of the mystic land. This is the 
fruit of individualism, the fruit of robbery and injustice; 
and when the desolate mother hears the Church sanction 
this crime, and tell her that her poverty is decreed by 
heaven, that others may live in parlors and revel in luxu- 
ries, she will curse the ordinances of the Most High, and 
blaspheme the Holy One of Israel. 

“When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find, think 
ye, faith upon the earth?” Not unless we change the in- 
dustrial system which contradicts every word of God, 
which blights every flower of love, paralyses every noble 
impulse of the human heart, fills every soul with selfish- 
ness, pride and vanity, and is blotting out God’s name 
from the fair brow of creation, and turning the earth into a 
school of atheism. The Church preaches that there will 
be no castes in heaven; all will be alike there; yet there 
must be castes here. She is opposed to equality on earth, 
though admitting that it will be one of the joys of heaven. 
It seems to me that it would be prudent to practice equali- 
ty here, so as to get used to it. It will be an awkward 
thing to fall into the brotherhood of heaven without any 
previous experience. 

I wish to read a few extracts from a sermon delivered 
in Kidron the other day by Mr. Isaac Mahony, and which 
was published in the Chronicle of that city. The Reverend 
divine spoke on the disparities between the classes, and 
attributes it all to the will of God. (i) “We see a great 
many wicked men enjoying prosperity,” says the minister, 
“and a large number of the just are poor, and we are sur- 
prised at the differences. But all this is done for the best. 
God gives wealth to the wicked to awaken their gratitude.” 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


265 


Why not give it to the poor to awaken their gratitude? 
It would follow from this statement that God is kind to 
His enemies and unkind to His servants; and we should 
join the rebellious legions, if we wish to bask in the smile 
of divine love. If God wishes to excite the gratitude of 
the wicked by large donations, He has made a mistake in 
the character of the people with whom He is dealing, for 
experiences prove that ninety per cent of the wealthy class 
abandon the Church and forget the Creator. 

(2) “By giving riches to the wicked, God keeps them 
from cursing and blaspheming, and thus He masters them 
as we would subject wild animals, by feeding them.” The 
just should therefore go on a strike, and refuse to obey the 
Almighty till He fills their coffers with gold. 

(3) “The wicked will go to hell, and therefore God 
wishes to give them some enjoyment in this life.” So if 
you decide to migrate to a warm climate after death, the 
smiles of fortune will cast a flood of light upon your earth- 
ly career. 

(4) “God thus punishes the avarice of the wicked, for 
wealth will be their ruin.” Then every one who supports 
individualism must be seeking destruction, for individu- 
alism is the deification of wealth. 

(5) “God allows one wicked man to grow rich at the 
expense of another, who has accumulated his wealth by 
dishonest methods; and thus by divine providence the lat- 
ter is punished.” Yes, but what about the former? What 
about the person from whom the latter steals? Does God 
wish to punish the poor and just by allowing thieves to 
plunder them? 

(6) “God bestows wealth on the wicked to teach the 
just that wealth is evil, otherwise it would not be given to 
rascals.” If wealth is an evil and given to the wicked for 
their destruction, why does the Church array herself on 
the side of capitalism? Why does she defend the rights of 
the millionaire robber to enjoy the fruits of other men’s 
labor? 

(7) “Some good men become rich, for God wishes to 
give them a foretaste of heaven. He does not bestow 
wealth on all good people, as vast fortunes would be inju- 
rious” to the vulgar herd. They might possibly change 


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their minds about the glory of heaven and prefer the tor- 
tures of hell. 

(8) “God wishes the wealthy people to give charity. 
The wealthy are therefore the agents of God in doing 
good.” But it would be better to give to the poor directlv 
for then they would be likely to get it. 

But we are not yet through with this remarkable ser- 
mon. Here is the finishing touch. Just listen to this, la- 
dies and gentlemen! (9) “God gives wealth to some just 
men, to show that He can reconcile two things which seem 
next to incompatible, namely riches and Christian virtue.” 
Therefore, we are to look upon God as a trickster who 
performs marvelous feats to show his dexterity. We might 
represent Him as speaking to the race of men. “You have 
all tried to do this and you have made a lamentable failure ; 
now just watch me do it!” 

The third commandment requires that we should keep 
holy the Sabbath day. But a man who works ten or 
twelve hours every day in the week, and perhaps till late 
on Friday night, does not feel disposed to assist at ser- 
vices on the Sabbath day, but he will stay at home and 
rest. A large number of our people are compelled to 
work on the Sabbath day. A large number have not suffi- 
cient clothing to appear in public; and on account of their 
poverty are neglected by the minister and often treated 
with disrespect by the congregation; and in the sermon, 
they are told to obey their masters, and not strive for 
higher things. 

The fourth commandment, as interpreted by the 
Church, says that we must not only honor, love and obey 
our parents, but also our pastors and teachers, magistrates 
and masters. Shall the poor love the ministers who are 
living on them, and yet never do anything to alleviate their 
sad condition, who are even on the side of the strong 
against the weak, on the side of capital against labor? 
Honor corrupt officials who are fattening at the public 
crib! Obey Moses McKinley, Martin Hannon and their 
band of butchers ! 

The fifth commandment forbids killing, quarreling 
and anger. In ancient times, and among barbarous na- 
tions of recent centuries, old people, who were superan- 


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267 


nuated, deformed infants and the decrepit, were sacrificed 
to the blade of the executioner. And I say that those cruel 
methods were more humane than the slow and torturous 
death that we inflict on the poor. Individualism is killing 
millions every year. Go down into the coal mines of Dan, 
and you behold little children working sixteen hours a day 
under the stroke of the lash. Go into the factories and 
sweat-shops of Toadia, and you behold the arena where 
the angel of death has pitched his tent, and the brow of 
every toiler is marked with the brand of the sable tyrant. 
The victims of our industrial system are far more numer- 
ous than the victims of Mars. I go back in fancy’s flight 
to the remotest ages of authentic history, and I weigh all 
the pangs of grief that have 'been inflicted by the sword of 
the conqueror or the despotism of the monarch. I accu- 
mulate all the agonies that have bowed down human souls. 
I take the bleeding heart of Israel when she wandered 
over the bleak wastes of Egypt to the shores of the Red 
Sea, pursued by the standing army of the kingdom. I see 
the children of Abraham on the sandy desert of Arabia, 
weeping because they had not been massacred in the land 
of bondage. I hear them crying for bread to feed their 
hunger and asking for water to slake their thirst while 
marching in the wilderness. I see them without a home, 
resting under the purple sheen of heaven, pitching their 
tents beneath the smiling stars. I look at God’s chosen 
people when they were slaughtered by the giants of the 
north, and torn to pieces by the war-dogs of the south. I 
hear the cry of the innocents that fell beneath the shining 
blade of Herod, and I gaze on the heaving bosoms of 
mothers, pouring out their sighs over the cruel massacre 
of their cooing babes. I behold the city of Zion surround- 
ed by the Roman legions, and the prophecy of Christ ac- 
complished in the destruction of the temple, the pride and 
hope and glory of the nation, and the chosen people dis- 
persed and driven from the homes of their sires. I hear 
the wail of Judah echoing through the centuries, calling 
upon Jehovah to deliver her from the weeds of mourning 
and restore her altar, sacrifice and priesthood. I hear the 
voice of Ephraim’s sons pleading for the rights of their 
country. I hear the mothers of Bagdad begging for the 


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lives of their children. I see the march of Benheim 
through the land which was a smiling meadow before him 
and a desolate waste behind his mailed hosts. I hear the 
last groan of the nation in the trenches of Sharod and 
among the mountains of Pyrek. I summon up all the 
victories of Ozias. I behold the conqueror of nations at 
Diol and Goren, at Neaz and Zilhauster. I gaze upon 
him in his march over the sands of Sohan, and the glory 
of his triumph in the battle of the swamps. I see his dis- 
aster at Simvoal, and his magnificent army perishing 
amidst the snows of Kurush, and the end of his unparal- 
leled career in the defeat of Loterwaren. I see him in his 
solitary exile, upon a rock amidst the dashing billows of 
the Abrahamic Sea. I summon up all the sorrows and 
miseries, all the grief and agony endured by the human 
race; and I count all the victims of death resulting from 
these preventable causes, and I say that our industrial 
system has killed more people, has crushed more hopes, 
has bled more hearts, and blighted more lives, than any 
other cause in the history of the world; and in the past fifty 
years it has been more potent for evil than all other causes 
combined within the same period of time. 

Individualism is responsible for all the wars that were 
ever waged. In this I mean that every war has been the 
result of aggression on the part of powerful nations to 
steal the wealth of weaker nations, and the territory thus 
acquired, and the wealth accumulated by such methods, 
have not been enjoyed by the masses of the victorious na- 
tions, but by a few individuals who planned and executed 
the bloody work. Wars of defense are justifiable, and the 
people who fight for the liberty of their country are not 
instigated by a spirit of avarice, or by any other sordid 
motive, but they are inflamed by the loftiest inspirations 
that ever animated a human soul. Wars of defense would 
be impossible were there no wars of aggression, and the 
latter being the child of individualism, we are justified in 
stating that individualism is responsible for every drop of 
blood that has ever crimsoned a battlefield, for all the 
lives that have been extinguished by the shining sword, 
the smoking gun and the deadly cannon. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


269 


To-day our flag waves over the citadels of Heron, and 
a million sons of the soil have been sent to the sombre 
grave by the legions of Toadia, who came as agents of 
civilization and in the name of God, religion and human- 
ity. Before the occupancy of Heron by our soldiers there 
was not a brothel or a saloon in the island; and to-day 
every town can count its hosts of scarlet women, and the 
distillers and brewers of this country can scarcely supply 
the demands of the thousands of sample rooms, where the 
noxious drug is sold to poison the hearts of the people. 
And all this in the name of God, religion and humanity! 
To-day the powers of the transarctic world are lined up in 
battle array against the hosts of Nichan, in order to per- 
meate the natives of that benighted land with the germs of 
sanctity. Must religion be supported by armies and na- 
vies? Then it is not religion. Individualism has plunged 
the nations of the west in a bloody war with the bronzed 
race of the Orient. 

Dismantle your battle ships and disband your armies ; 
turn your swords into plough shares, and your spears into 
pruning hooks; preach the fatherhood of God and the 
brotherhood of man ; and prove the sincerity of your doc- 
trine by practicing the law of love and justice, and the 
mighty hosts who bow before the symbols of idolatry, and 
worship the heroes of history, will throng the temple of 
truth, and adore the Monarch of the universe. 

The sixth commandment forbids impurity, and indi- 
vidualism enthrones the goddess of lust. Many men are 
too poor to support a wife, and the wealthy are so vitiated 
by luxury that they seek pleasure in the practice of polyg- 
amy. The ancients, with dozens of wives, were angels of 
purity compared with the roues of our large cities; and 
the debaucheries of civilized nations are more monstrous 
than the immoralities of pagan countries. Bethel, the 
capital of a country where polygamy is recognized by the 
law, is more reputable than Lidda, the capital of this high- 
ly cultured commonwealtn. Woman is dependent and 
seeks assistance in matrimony. She has become an article 
of merchandise, and she is sold to the highest bidder. 
Isias says that in those days, seven women shall take hold 
of one man, each begging him to become her husband; 


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and we now live in an age when seventy women pursue 
every man in the marriage market. The young ladies of 
this country enter into undesirable alliances for the sake of 
lucre, financial assistance and social position. These wed- 
dings are not hallowed by the breath of love, and the nup- 
tial wreath has scarcely withered on the brow of the bride 
when clouds of sorrow banish the light of joy from the 
home of the young couple, and divorce is the next chapter 
in the drama of their lives. They divide the house, one 
takes the inside, the other the outside. 

But this is not all. There are thousands of girls work- 
ing in our factories and stores, with a salary of not more 
than three or four dollars per week, and in many cases 
they are compelled to support a widowed mother, or help 
her to sustain a number of young children. And as it is 
impossible to accomplish this with the small compensa- 
tion they get for their labor, they are necessitated to seek 
the assistance of gentlemen friends, and their purity is 
sacrificed to secure their daily food. This is not an over- 
drawn picture. It is a common occurrence in all our great 
cities. 

Virtue can only flourish in an atmosphere of purity. 
Millions of our poor are compelled to live in one room. 
Sometimes whole families are huddled together, without 
discrimination of sex. Can the angel of purity dwell in 
such habitations? The little ones are inoculated with the 
virus of corruption before they have reached the years of 
puberty, and they enter life with all the proclivities of 
hardened criminals. Such environments are detrimental 
to corporal and spiritual life. In our tenement districts, 
a strong rat would die of consumption in less than six 
months, and a decent dog would lose his dignity in a few 
weeks. And do you think that it is the will of God for 
men to live in places that lead to moral corruption ? Then 
why not give these people an opportunity to change their 
environments, and inspire them with moral sentiments? 

The seventh commandment forbids stealing, and the 
law of competition has made theft a necessity in all trades. 
No investment is safe, and a reliable man is an anomaly. 
The greatest theft is perpetrated on labor. The poor sup- 
port the rich and pay nearly all the taxes besides. Their 


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271 


property is assessed at full value, whereas the property of 
the wealthy is estimated at one-fifth its cost. There is a 
plant in this city taxed for sixty-seven thousand dollars, 
and it cost three million seven hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars. There was a factory burned in Engeddi last year, 
and it was insured for three hundred thousand dollars and 
taxed for fifty thousand dollars. 

Stealing is one of the arts of the age, and its devotees 
are found among all classes. One time a man lost his 
overcoat, and he prayed that it would not fall into the 
hands of a thief, a lawyer or a theologian. The thief, he 
said, would keep it because he wants it; the lawyer would 
prove that he had a legal right to it, and the theologian 
would prove that he had a divine right to it. 

The eighth commandment forbids lying, and individu- 
alism has made this a profession. The merchant lies about 
the value of his commodities, and tells the customer that 
he is selling the article below cost, when he is making a 
large profit. The politician lies about the remdies which 
he proposes for the evils of the age. The physician lies 
about his skill, the lawyer lies about the nature of the case 
that he pleads. The man and boy, the woman and the girl, 
all lie to get along in life. 

The tenth commandment forbids us to covet the wealth 
of others. If all had abundance, and no one could be- 
come wealthy, there would be no covetousness. Pride, 
the root of all evil, is fostered by wealth, and envy, anger, 
revenge, gluttony, luxury, vanity, and all the blackest pas- 
sions of human nature, are born of individualism. It en- 
genders the midnight assassin, crowds the scaffold with 
murderers, fills the jails with miscreants, drives men to 
insanity, creates our asylums, turns man against man, 
changes earth into an haceldama, and makes life a living 
hell. 

Intemperance comes from overwork and mental anxie- 
ty. Saloons are established for profit, and competition in 
the business leads to adulterations which destroys mind 
and body, and s«ids the victim into the grave or the in- 
sane asylum. We have our free schools, and yet illiteracy 
is dense, because the millions of poor children have not 
the clothes to wear or the necessary books; and even when 


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supplied with those, they must enter, the factory or the 
sweat-shop, at the early age of twelve years, and their long 
hours of labor render future study and reading an im- 
possibility. Individualism has engendered religious prej- 
udices, for religion has been used for obtaining temporal 
advantages. All bloody wars, waged in the name of re- 
ligion, have been created by selfish motives. Bigotry has 
been utilized to inflame nations against nations, in the 
struggle for empire and wealth; After* three hundred 
years of carnage, the masses of the people are beginning 
to awaken to the reality of the situation. Members of the 
various denominations have used the influence of the 
Church to secure positions of emolument; and sectarian 
hatred and religious antipathies have been fostered in the 
hearts of defeated contestants. 

Destroy the struggle for existence, and religious preju- 
dices will wane. Man cannot hate his fellow man for his 
opinions, unless those opinions are detrimental to his in- 
terests. Men have never fought about the color of the 
clouds, and nations have never been involved in war over 
the ponderosity of the sun; for the clouds rain on the poor 
and rich, and the sun shines on the just and the wicked, 
and all have enjoyed the common gifts. 

Socialism, like Protectionism and Liberalism, has no 
religion. It is purely a question of economics. The charge 
that many Socialists are opposed to the Church is easily 
understood, when we reflect that the Church is opposed 
to them. The Church, heretofore, has been supported by 
the poor, while she has sacrificed their rights to the ava- 
rice of capital, and the masses, realizing this fact, are rap- 
idly drifting away from the faith, and in a few years more 
the temple of God will be abandoned. 

Socialism, being the opposite of individualism, is an 
antidote for all the evils we have enumerated. It teaches 
love and justice. It would create an abundance for all. 
Under system of just distribution there would be no 
poverty. Men would believe in God, for they would be the 
recipient of His bounty. Under Socialism, men will see 
the beneficence of the Creator in every leaf of vernal wood, 
and every sheaf of golden grain, and every field of waving 
com, and every grove of yellow fruit. They will love and 


BEYOND THE BLRCK OCEAN 


273 


admire the Almighty instead of blaspheming His holy 
name; and prayer and praise, and incense and song and 
sacrifice, will arise to the throne of Omnipotence. There 
will be no law-breaking, for laws will be just and legisla- 
tion will be pure. The Sabbath day shall be sanctified, 
for men will have time and leisure, and with joyful hearts 
they will throng the temple to thank God for all the 
blessings which make their homes comfortable and their 
lives happy. 

Legal murder, arising from our industrial system, will 
cease and Mars will vacate his throne. Impurity will be 
almost wiped from the earth, for men can marry without 
any fear of the future. Love will bind the hearts of the 
bridal pair, and reign at the fireside ; and happy babes will 
smile in their mother’s arms, and return the devotion of 
fond parents. Dishonesty will cease, for it will not pay; 
falsehood will be dethroned, for it will become a useless 
trade ; and truth, so long persecuted, will arise to bless the 
world with its light. 

Luxury and waste will be no more, idleness will be 
unknown. Labor will become a law for all. Politics will 
be purified, for sinecures will cease, and men will not seek 
public office, when they can earn the same salary in other 
employments. Crime being vastly diminished, prisons 
will be almost empty; the police force will be wonderfully 
reduced; educational facilities will be increased; intelli- 
gence will expand and religion will grow. War will be 
abolished and taxation will be a mere bagatelle. There 
will be no strikes, no lockouts, no industrial crises, no 
adulterations, no needless banking and insurance, and the 
nation will enter into the golden period of its existence. 


CHAPTER XXXII. 

A number of circumstances had led to the arrest of 
Lord Jesse and Elija Murphy for the murder of Teddy 
Einstein. Hosts of friends believed that Isaac Gilhooley 


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was innocent, and they advanced sufficient funds to hunt 
down the guilty parties. Two years after the murder it 
was learned that Murphy was in the carriage with the Geh- 
theimers the evening the murder occurred. Later on, 
Levi Sullivan, a hardware merchant on Main Street, said 
that he had made two keys for Murphy a few days before 
the crime was committed. It was now supposed that these 
keys had been used to enter the rooms of the editors, and 
secure the garments, which were afterwards restored in a 
blood-stained condition, thus throwing suspicion, on Gil- 
hooley and his companion. 

Reuben Abden, a member of the Soloman Detective 
force, was in the park one evening and fell into conver- 
sation with Simon Heckler, and' they began to discuss the 
murder of Einstein. Heckler said that he was at the 
north gate of the park that evening, about ten minutes 
past eight o’clock, when the Gehtheimers drove up, and 
Elija Murphy alighted, with a small valise in his hand, and 
took the car to the city. This strengthened the suspicion 
that Murphy carried the blood-stained garments to the 
hotel, and placed them in the rooms of the editors before 
their return. It was further learned that Murphy was 
not in the carriage when it entered the park. By follow- 
ing up this clue, it was ascertained that Murphy had en- 
tered the park alone, coming in a street car to the gate. 

In the meantime, Benjamin Marx had ingratiated 
himself with the Gehtheimer family, and learned from the 
mother that Lord Jesse had been guilty of some terrible 
crime, but she refused to make any definite statements. 
Marx had heard that Jesse had bought a villa in Rubek, 
and was living in princely style. He related this to Mrs. 
Gehtheimer, adding that he was a great favorite in so- 
ciety, and was engaged to a wealthy baroness. Mrs. 
Gehtheimer flew into a rage, and said that she would have 
him hanged if he married. ‘T have him in my power, and 
I will execute my vengeance!” she cried. Mrs. Reisan 
constantly abused Lord Jesse, but never intimated that 
he was guilty of any crime. 

Murphy had been interviewed from time to time by 
Isaac O’Shanahan, another detective, and whenever the 
murder of Einstein was mentioned, Murphy betrayed 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


27S 


anxiety. He finally left the city and went to Kedron, 
where he was followed by a detective, and all his move- 
ments were scrutinized. 

Solomon Levi went over on the ship with Jesse and 
Mrs. Reisan, and he looked up the record of the Danite. 
It was discovered that Jesse’s real name was Isaac Guis- 
man. He was the only son and heir of a wealthy banker 
in Dan, and had received an excellent education in the 
University of Hosea. His mother died when Jesse was 
twelve years of age, and eight years later he lost his father. 
He inherited the entire wealth of the family, and imme- 
diately affiliated with the Queen’s Club, whose members 
were famous gamblers. In less than five years Jesse had 
squandered his fortune. He then became a forger, and 
drew immense sums on the names of the best business 
men in Dan. He was an expert with the pen, and he suc- 
ceeded so well in imitating the chirography of his victims 
that they were compelled by law to recognize the checks. 
He presented a check on Lord Aran for the sum of one 
hundred thousand dollars, and the nobleman was com- 
pelled to pay it. A second check on Aran led to his ar- 
rest and he was condemned to imprisonment for life. He 
was afterwards released from prison by Lord Aran, and 
several other prominent men in Hosea. A few days after- 
wards he sailed for Toadia, on the same ship with Aran 
and Uriah, and was entertained with those gentlemen at 
the residence of Ezechias Rosenberger. 

Ben Neubaum, who was the coachman for the Geh- 
theimer family, had left after the murder of Teddy Ein- 
stein, and it was not known where he had gone, till years 
afterwards he was discovered by Solomon Levi in Dan, 
where he filled the position of porter at Lord Uriah’s 
castle. Levi interviewed Ben about the drive in the park, 
and the latter became frightened, and said that he had 
nothing to do with the murder of Teddy Einstein. Levi 
told him that if he confessed he would not be punished, 
but if he persisted in his denial the fact would be proved 
on him, and he would be hanged for complicity in the 
crime. With the assurance of protection, Neubaum made 
a full confession. Armed with these facts, the agency 
proceeded to have the culprits arrested. Jesse and Mur- 


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BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


phy were brought back to Toadia and put on trial. The 
facts leading up to the arrest were substantiated by evi- 
dence. Neubaum took the stand and testified that he 
drove the carriage on the evening that Einstein was mur- 
dered. 

“Lord Jesse and Teddy left the carriage at the lagoon, 
about a quarter to eight o’clock. I heard a faint cry, but 
never suspected that there was any trouble. In ten or fif- 
teen minutes Lord Jesse returned with Elija Murphy, and 
Murphy had a small valise. Mrs. Gehtheimer said, ‘Did 
you do the work?’ and Lord Jesse said, ‘It is all over now. 
We must get away quick. Drive to the north gate.’ When 
we reached the north gate Murphy got out and took a 
street car going toward the custom house.” 

Mrs. Gehtheimer was called to give her testimony, 
and when cross-questioned by the attorney for the State, 
she became confused, contradicted herself repeatedly, and 
also denied statements which she had made in the trial of 
Isaac Gilhooley, and finally broke down and confessed 
that she was accessory to the deed, that Lord Jesse had 
promised to marry Lucile, if Teddy were not in the way. 
Lucile was fondly devoted to Teddy, and would not con- 
sent to marry Jesse. “If Teddy were removed, I thought 
that Lucile would marry Jesse, and when he proposed to 
kill Teddy, that he might have no rival for the heart of 
my daughter, I acquiesced and co-operated with him. He 
wrote the note to the editors, feigning Teddy’s- chirog- 
raphy, and signing Teddy’s name, and planned the meet- 
ing at the monument. He also wrote the note that was 
found in Teddy’s pocket, and signed the editors’ names to 
it. Teddy was not aware of either note. After Jesse and 
Murphy had killed Teddy they put the note, which was 
supposed to have been written by the editors, into Teddy’s 
pocket. Murphy met us at the lagoon, and after the mur- 
der was committed, he took Teddy’s place in the carriage, 
and we drove to the north gate, and Murphy took a car, 
and hurried back to the hotel to put the blood-stained 
garments in the rooms of the editors, before they would 
return. He used the keys that had been made by Mr. Sul- 
livan to enter the rooms. We thought that McGillicuddy 
and Gilhooley would both be at the monument at the apr 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


277 


pointed time, and would be convicted for the murder of 
Teddy Einstein.” 

Here Mrs. Gehtheimer wept bitterly, and denounced 
Jesse as the incarnation of wickedness. Judge Tischen- 
dorf of Engeddi defended the prisoners and his defense 
was the triumph of his life. He exerted every effort to 
save his clients and visited them frequently in their cells. 
The trial being concluded, the jury passed sentence of 
death on Isaac Guisman (alias Lord Jesse) and Elija Mur- 
phy for the murder of Teddy Einstein. 

Gehtheimer and his wife were then arrested and tried, 
and were condemned to imprisonment for life, as accom- 
plices. Thus ended the mystery which had clouded the 
names of two innocent men for many years. This was a 
crowning victory for “The Flaming Sword,” and the 
cause of Socialism. The hearts of the people, the honest, 
law-abiding citizens, were jubilant over the result of the 
trial, and the legal exculpation of Isaac Gilhooley. 

Though the masses never, for a moment, suspected 
that he was the murderer of Teddy Einstein, yet the 
proofs were against him, and they were compelled to sub- 
mit to the verdict of the law, and it was beyond their 
power to purify his name from the stigma. None were 
more exultant over the results of the judicial proceed- 
ings, which justified the innocent and condemned the 
guilty, than Isaac’s father and mother, and their joy was 
equally shared by McGillicuddy and the Einsteins. There 
was a universal jubilation throughout Toadia. Isaac Gil- 
hooley was an innocent man, and the God of justice lifted 
the veil from the souls of the hypocrites, and exposed the 
iniquity of his calumniators. 


CHAPTER XXXIII. 

McGillicuddy was discussing the turn of recent events 
at the Einstein home, some months after the trial. Judge 
Tischendorf had succeeded in obtaining a respite of ninety 


27S 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


days for his clients, and the execution would not take 
place until the first of September. 

“It seems very strange,” said Abraham, “that Lord 
Aran and Lord Uriah should use their influence to re- 
lease Guisman from imprisonment.” 

“Yes, it does seem strange,” replied Einstein, “But I 
presume that Guisman’s father was an old friend of 
Aran’s, and how do you know but they may be related?” 

“This is the only way I can account for the interest 
they have taken in the case. When he was sentenced to 
prison, I presume that Aran relented, and pleaded for 
him, with the hope that his narrow escape would be a les- 
son to him during the rest of his life.” 

“It is remarkable, too,” said Einstein, “what interest 
Tischendorf has taken in his trial. I presume that Aran 
is paying for all this.” 

“Oh ! you may be sure that Tischendorf is not work- 
ing for glory. He is not a man of that character. By the 
way, pardon me for the interruption, but Eisenheimer 
will pay a visit to Toadia during the month of June.” 

“So I see from the papers, and I am delighted to hear 
it. I received a letter to-day from Biddy, and she says 
she will come over on the same ship with him.” 

“And dear Biddy is coming home? Poor child! her 
life has been full of sorrow.” 

“It has, indeed. But she is completely changed since 
the arrival of the information relative to the trial. Her 
letter is so cheerful. She writes that while she never en- 
tertained a doubt that Isaac was not guilty, yet she could 
not face the world and bear the unmerited scorn which it 
heaped on his memory; and hence, she sought refuge 
among strangers, in the distant regions of Arabia.” 

“It is a blessing for the happiness of all of us that the 
agents of that dastardly deed have been discovered.” 

“Biddy says that Eisenheimer will take his air-ship 
with him on his visit to Toadia.” 

“That will be a curiosity for the people of this country. 
But it is strange that he does not come over in his air- 
ship.” 

“It would not be large enough for his retinue. It will 


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279 


hold only ten or twelve persons, whereas there will be 
twenty in his party.” 

“I suppose, Mr. Einstein, that you have noticed in the 
papers that the governments of New Israel are trying to 
buy the pattern of the air-ship, and the secret composi- 
tions of the bombs ?” 

'‘I observed a few days ago that the empire of Zabulon 
and Kurush had each offered Eisenheimer a hundred 
thousand dollars.” 

“Ah ! but there is later news in the Kidron dispatches. 
Dan offered ten millions, Reuben six millions, Zabulon 
fifty millions, and Kurush has gone up to one hundred 
million.” 

“My heavens ! if that man would sell, he would be 
richer than Croesus.” 

“Yes, but he will never do that. He intends to use 
his power for the disarmament of the nations. The latest 
dispatches state that he contemplates this movement, and 
as soon as affairs are fully settled in Jonas, he will exe- 
cute his intentions, and issue orders to the governments 
of the earth to disarm under penalty of destruction from 
the demon of the clouds.” 

The family having discussed matters of general inter- 
est with the young reformer, and tea being over, the enam- 
ored youth and his lovely sweetheart withdrew to the par- 
lor to speak of a question of special importance. 

“My dear Mary Ann,” said Abraham, “we have long 
known each other, and our love dates from the day of our 
acquaintance. Had we yielded to our inclinations, we 
would have been wedded long ago; but circumstances 
caused us to delay our union. Let love triumph and let 
our hearts be one. I am now in a position to live in com- 
fort, and Socialism is so well rooted in the country, that I 
can have more leisure, and also enjoy more of the plea- 
sures of life. If you have no objections, my darling, we 
will approach the altar of Hymen on the fourth of June.” 

The blushing maiden threw her arms around her 
lover’s neck, and whispered : 

“O, my darling! How can I ever love you as you de- 
serve ! You are the idol of my heart. Your thoughts are 
my thoughts, your will my will, your desire my desire.” 


28 o 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


“Then, my sweet, loving girl, we shall be married 
three weeks after the arrival of your sister.” 

So arrangements were made for the wedding, with the 
approval of the bride’s parents. The few intervening 
weeks rolled away and the family were busy preparing for 
the reception of one daughter, after a long absence from 
home, and the nuptials of the other. The news flashed 
across the wires that the ship from South Arabia had been 
sighted. Carriages were rolling down the streets to the 
wharf, and the great city of Deboreh was clad in gala 
robes for the visit of the renowned Eisenheimer, the 
champion of liberty and the savior of civilization. A ten- 
der had been sent out to meet the ocean liner, and convey 
the party to the city. A band of music poured forth pa- 
triotic airs as the little vessel steamed down the harbor ; 
flags were waving; the people were shouting; bells were 
ringing ; pennons were floating, and the entire city seemed 
to crowd the dock and line the river bank. The boat was 
moored to the wharf, and a tall, handsome gentleman, 
with a full black beard, escorting a beautiful young lady, 
stepped on the gang plank. Ten thousand voices cried 
out : 

“Hurrah for Eisenheimer ! Hurrah for the champion 
of liberty !” 

Moses McKinley, the reigning president, with Senator 
Martin Hannon and Abraham McGillicuddy, advanced to 
meet the hero of the South Arabian Republic, The 
young lady threw herself into the arms of Abraham, and 
cried out : 

“O, my brother ! My only brother now ! how glad I 
am to see you !” 

Abraham recognized Miss Einstein, and fondly kissed 
her. Then, he turned to the gentleman and said : 

“I presume that this is Mr. Eisenheimer?” 

The stranger smiled, and a tear rolled down his cheeks, 
as he replied : 

“Abraham, has the space of seven years so completely 
transformed my appearance that the friend of my youth 
fails to recognize the companion of his boyhood days ?” 

Abraham drew back, and his face donned a deathly 
pallor. For a moment he could not speak. His friends no- 


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281 


ticed his embarrassment, and asked him if he were ill; 
but he treated their remarks with silence. He seemed to 
be in a stupor. At length Biddy exclaimed : 

“Abraham, don’t you know your old associate, the 
companion of your early struggles?” 

McGillicuddy finally rallied from the shock, and 
throwing his arms around the stranger, cried : 

“Isaac! dear Isaac! We had mourned your death 
these long, long years ! Thank God that you still live to 
bless our lives with>your bright smiles, to bless the world 
with your virtue and genius !” 

Biddy then asked for her parents and sister, and in a 
few minutes they made their way through the dense 
throng to where the Einsteins were waiting for their 
daughter. The family did not recognize Gilhooley, and 
at first addressed him as Mr. Eisenheimer. When they 
were apprised of his identity, they could not believe the 
announcement. They were appalled by the unexpected 
news, and Mrs. Einstein fell into a swoon, and was car- 
ried to the carriage and rapidly driven home. The tidings 
were heralded through the vast assemblage that Eisen- 
heimer was Gilhooley in disguise. The information was 
borne from lip to lip, and in an hour it was known to 
every person in Deboreh ; and before the sun went down 
the news was flashed over the wires to every part of Toa- 
dia and to every civilized country in the trans-arctic world. 

Moses Gilhooley and his wife read the account in the 
Meron Progress, an afternoon paper, but they could not 
believe the report. They decided to wire to Abraham for 
further information, when a messenger, bearing a tele- 
gram, came to the door. Moses opened the envelope and 
read the following message : 

“Dear Mamma: Your lost child still lives, and is 
known to the world as Eisenheimer. I arrived here to- 
day. Will be down to-morrow evening. Hear that my 
father has returned. Give him my love. Your devoted 
son, Isaac Gilhooley.” 

The aged couple were overcome. They could not wait 
till the following day, but took the next train which left 
Meron for Deboreh, and arrived there early that same 
evening. After such a long absence, and under conditions 


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SO peculiar, the meeting of the son and his parents can 
better be imagined than described. Isaac had never 
known his father, having lost him when an infant. The 
father had not seen his child for twenty-nine years. He 
was then a babe in his mother’s arms, now he is a man, 
known throughout the world. Let us cast a veil over that 
meeting. It is a scene that surpasses the power of de- 
scription. 

The elder McGillicuddy, too, hied to Deboreh, when 
he heard the news, to see the companion of his son’s early 
struggle for human liberty. When Mrs. Einstein recov- 
ered from the shock, Biddy explained the mystery of 
Isaac’s career since his escape from custody. 

“You remember,” she said, “that people thought that 
Isaac was cremated in the barn. But he made his escape 
and went out West, where he sought refuge in the moun- 
tains of Moab. For several years he pursued the life of a 
hunter. He knew that he was not safe until he reached 
some country beyond the western waves. But how could 
he make his escape? If he took passage on* a steamer, 
he thought that he would be captured, for being ignorant 
of the finding of the skeleton in the ruins of the barn, he 
presumed that the authorities were searching for him in 
every town and city and port in the nation. He conceived 
the idea of inventing an air-ship, that he might defeat the 
efforts of the authorities, and seek safety in flight among 
the clouds. 

“Having completed his invention, he heard of the 
war in South Arabia, and he determined to utilize his ship 
to the advantage of the Jonites by keeping them informed 
of the movements of the Danish army. His arrival in 
Jonas created a profound sensation. At first they thought 
that his ship had been sent by the enemy to ascertain their 
location and resources. He dropped a letter from the 
sky, explaining his motives, giving a history of his in- 
vention, and offering his assistance, telling them to wave 
a flag in case they wished to accept his services. The let- 
ter was read, and the emblem of peace floated from the 
walls and towers of Seda. The air-ship came down, and 
Isaac introduced himself as Eisenheimer, but concealed' 
his nationality and antecedents. His proposals were ac- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


283 


cepted, and he kept on the wing for some time, watching 
the movements of the invaders. 

“He then conceived the idea of inventing a bomb to 
hurl from the ship, and as the natives had all the materials 
essential for the work, he was not long in realizing his 
dream of wiping out the Danish empire. When Zapling 
was evacuated by the enemy, I had heard that the murder- 
ers of Teddy were convicted, and I decided to return home 
on the same ship with Eisenheimer, not knowing that he 
was Isaac. When the ship left port I saw Isaac, but did 
not recognize him, for his full beard had so completely 
changed his appearance. The second day after we left 
Jonas, he observed me, and he said, Ts it possible ! Surely 
this is Biddy Einstein ?’ I was astonished to be thus ac- 
costed by the hero of the South Arabian Republic. I 
looked at him in astonishment, and replied, ‘That is my 
name. Have we. ever met before?’ ‘My dear girl, no 
doubt you have long mourned me as dead,’ he replied, 
‘but I am still living, and my hopes to see you again are 
at last realized. I am your affianced lover, Isaac Gil- 
hooley.’ You may surmise the situation better than I can 
portray it in language. My joy was so intense I thought 
I should die. I wished to communicate the news to you, 
but we were on the deep. We spent the days of our voy- 
age in recounting our experiences, and laying plans for 
the future. Isaac had read in the papers of the trial of the 
murderers, and the confession of Mrs. Gehtheimer and 
Neubaum, and hence he had no reason now to conceal his 
identity, or absent him.self from the land of his nativity.” 

Within a few weeks after the arrival of Gilhooley there 
was a double wedding. Miss Mary Ann Einstein was 
made Mrs. McGillicuddy, and Miss Biddy was led to the 
bridal altar by the hero who had hurled bolts of vengeance 
from the clouds on the mightiest empire of modern times, 
and like the martial angels of the Ancient Testament, lib- 
erated a noble race of men from the chains of bondage. 

Abraham McGillicuddy purchased a residence in the 
East End, where he took his bride after their marriage, 
and Isaac made his home with his father-in-law, Mr. Pat- 
rick Einstein. 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


284 


CHAPTER XXXIV, 

The Social Democrats, the Socialist Labor party, and 
the Nationalists united their forces and held their conven- 
tion at Lidda, in June, 1864. Isaac Gilhooley was present 
and delivered a great speech in support of co-operation. 

“Gentlemen,” he said, “some people say that competi- 
tion is the life of trade, is the incentive to exertion, and its 
elimination from society means the decay and death of the 
commonwealth. If competition is essential to the devel- 
opment of society, then it must be a factor in the develop- 
ment of vegetable and animal life. Why does the farmer 
plow his field? Why does he not let the. corn, compete 
with the weeds ? Why does he improve the fertility of his 
land with manure and other substances? Why does he 
let his fields rest a few years, or plant them with crops that 
do not exhaust the fertility of the soil ? Why does he pre- 
serve the breed of his stock ? Why does the horticulturist 
protect his flowers from the chilly blast of winter ? Why 
not let the fragile plants compete with the biting frosts 
and withering snows? 

“If the agriculturist allowed competition free sway, his 
meadows would be filled with a useless, noxious growth, 
that would destroy every blade of grass in the struggle for 
existence. Liberals and Protectionists speak of the har- 
mony between labor and capital. There can be no har- 
mony between opposing forces, for the existence of one 
depends on the destruction of the other. Capital and la- 
bor are like two boys playing see-saw, one must go up 
when the other goes down. The Protectionist and Lib-, 
eral papers are always on the side of labor before election, 
and always on the side of capital after election. When 
there is a strike, these papers show their real animus. 
They cry for the blood of the poor man, and call on the 
public to arm themselves and shoot down the strikers. 

“The other day a man asked me what I would do with 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


28s 


tramps under Socialism. What do you do with tramps 
under the competitive system? You let them starve. Un- 
der Socialism there would be no tramps. A large number 
of people are tramps because they cannot get work. A 
vast number cannot get work that they can perform. Some 
were clerks or bookkeepers or mechanics, and having lost 
their positions, they are unable to perform the hard labor 
of the railroad section hand. Some are tramps because 
they were discouraged by long hours of laborious toil 
with insufficient remuneration. Some have become hard- 
ened by the asperities of the world. Some few are dis- 
honest, but the public is not aware of this fact, and gives 
them a support. Some were born tired, because their 
mothers labored like galley slaves during gestation, and 
the unborn foetus has been impregnated with ennui and 
lassitude, and comes into the world cursed with physical 
debility. Under Socialism the working day would be re- 
duced to two hours, and there would be labor for all, with 
a just compensation, and your tramps would disappear 
from the nation. 

“But the capitalist says that there would be no emula- 
tion under a Socialistic form of government? When men 
have all they want, they will not exert themselves. The 
capitalists of the world have all they want, and a great deal 
more than they can use. In fact, their wealth is a burden 
to them, and still they do not cease to exert themselves. 
Public approval would be the incentive to exertion. The 
laborer would invent some machine which would reduce 
the hours of toil for himself and his fellow men and he 
would become the hero of his craft, a star in the galaxy of 
the nation’s great names. He would be pensioned and 
thus enabled to devote his genius to the promotion of 
mechanical skill, which would be utilized for the ameliora- 
tion of the human race. Machinery is now used for the 
advancement of capital, and the degradation of labor, and 
the inventor is robbed of the fruits of his genius for the 
personal aggrandizement of the employer. The man who 
would invent a new method for conducting business, or 
would introduce some innovation that would enhance the 
wealth of society and redound to the glory of the nation, 


286 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


would be recognized as a public benefactor, and his statue 
would be enshrined in the temple of fame. 

“What interest would it be to the government to build 
a railroad? says the capitalist. What interest was it to the 
government to establish the postal system, the public 
school, the army and navy — all Socialistic enterprises? 
Some one would agitate the building of a road through a 
certain section of the country. Others would take up the 
question, and soon it would assume national importance. 

“Socialism is opposed because it is a step forward. Prog- 
ress has always been opposed by a very large percentage 
of the people known as the conservative element. Dan 
and Zabulon opposed the Grereinan calendar for two hun- 
dred years, and Kurush has not yet adopted it. When the 
Royal Society introduced this calendar into the Senate in 
1752, the fellows of that learned association were pursued 
and cursed on the streets by the ignorant rabble who 
claimed that the new method of dividing time had robbed 
them of eleven days of their lives. Serpek was banished 
from Zabulon, because he advocated the theory that the 
sun is the central figure in the solar system. Herob was 
driven from Samaria, and his observatory, which cost two 
hundred thousand dollars, was destroyed. The people be- 
lieved that astronomy was a black art. Kassed was per- 
secuted in Asher, and the Marquis of Mersen in Dan, for 
their scientific acquisitions. 

“When the fanning mill for winnowing grain was in- 
troduced into Galilee, the Church condemned it as being 
in league with the prince of the power of air, for the Bible 
says, ‘The wind bloweth where it listeth.’ The study of 
geology was condemned for centuries. Hycor discovered 
the circulation of blood, and the people tore down his 
house, and stoned him in the public road. Nerjen and 
Sonmis discovered inoculation, vaccination and anaesthe- 
sia, and they were condemned as being the agents of hell 
to defy the power of heaven. The preachers denounced 
lightning rods, claiming that they disturbed the equilibri- 
um of heaven, and the great earthquake of 1775 was at- 
tributed to this diabolical invention. An Engeddi clergy- 
man called it a contrivance for tampering with the execu- 
tion of divine wrath. The first steamboat that appeared in 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


2B7 


the Danish channel was called the Devil’s boat. The news 
was rapidly spread abroad that hell was turned loose, and 
was floating on the sea. The clergy took up the cry of 
the vulgar herd, and said that since God had separated 
fire and water in the beginning, no man had a right to mix 
them and make them work together. Some called it the 
leviathan mentioned in the Book of Job. The Academy 
of Science in Simeon, consulted by Ozias, called it a sad 
notion, a gross delusion, an absurdity. The first steam- 
boat of Tanluf sailed up the Sanan River on the 17th of 
August, 1805, and a convention of preachers assembled 
in Rehor, came to the conclusion that the boat was the 
beast, with seven heads and ten horns, making a total of 
seventeen, which was designated by the seventeenth of the 
month. 

“There are many cases on the other side of the earth 
where science has been persecuted, and great men have 
been sacrificed to popular prejudice. Socrates was put to 
death, Anaxagoras was imprisoned. Aristotle was com- 
pelled to seek safety in flight. Gerbert was abhorred as 
a magician. Roger Bacon languished in a dungeon for 
many years. Virgilius was condemned for teaching the 
existence of the antipodes. Savonarola lost his life in 
trying to save Florence from moral putrefaction, and Co- 
lumbus, after braving wind and wave, was brought back 
in chains as a criminal, and having added a new world tO' 
the empire of Spain, died in poverty and distress. 

“Socialism will give every man an opportunity. It will 
make all men free and equal. Under it, there will be no 
privileged class, and this is why it has been so obstinately 
opposed. My friends, civilization progresses with the 
preservation of mental energies, and mental energies are 
wasted by maintenance and conflict. Vast wealth on one 
side and degrading poverty on the other engender a class 
struggle. The rich are vitiated by luxury, and the poor 
are demoralized by poverty. The rich spend their time in 
seeking pleasure and in keeping down the poor; and the 
poor spend their time in supporting themselves and their 
masters, and fighting for their fredom. 

, “Vast inequalities beget conflict and increase the bur- 
den of maintenance and retard the wheel of progress and 


288 


BEYOND THE BLACKOCEAN 


destroy civilization. Look back into the shadows of the 
lost ages, and what do you behold? The tombs of fallen 
empires and extinct races. Behold the glory of ancient 
Syria, behold the splendor of Babylon and Nineveh with 
their massive walls and brazen gates, and minarets and 
towers and pinnacles that glistened in the golden sheen of 
the tropical sky; and where are they to-day? When Baby- 
lon went down, two per cent of her population owned all 
the wealth, and the masses were starved. When Persia 
fell beneath the sword of doom, one per cent of the popu- 
lation owned all the land. Let us leave the valley of the 
Tigris and go to the valley of the Nile, and behold the 
glory of ancient Egypt, with her schools and libraries and 
temples and pyramids that were swept by the wandering 
clouds. When Egypt perished two per cent of her popu- 
lation owned ninety-seven per cent of her wealth. 

“The eagle of progress perched on the rocks of the 
Mediterranean, and the Phoenician confederation became 
the sun and center of civilization, spreading the rays of 
light upon every country, from the land of frozen streams 
to the billows of the south sea. But wealth and poverty 
led her to ruin; she now lives only in the song of the bard. 
The star of genius arose like a goddess froni the wild 
Aegian flood that swept the rock of Attica and covered 
every land, and every wave, with the glory of its sheen. 
The harp of the Muse mingled with the sigh of the wind 
and the wail of the woods, the whisper of the trees and the 
voice of the groves. O Greece ! land of poetry and elo- 
quence, home of sages and heroes, hallowed by the sacred 
memories that cluster around thy fountains and glide 
along thy streams! O Hellas, consecrated by the song of 
Apollo, whose lyre filled the lonely mountain dell with 
echoes weird and dim, and charmed the rocks of wild 
Parnassus with the magic of its sound, and held the world 
entranced around Castalia's silvery brook nestled in the 
shade of Helicon! Thy ancient glory is lost and thou 
hast vanished from the galaxy of nations; and inequality 
is the cause of thy ruin. The Imperial City arose on the 
borders of the Tiber, and the Roman Eagles swept every 
Ian r1 and every sea till the throne of the Caesars ruled the 
world. In the days of her supremacy one thousand eight 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


289 

hundred owned the Roman empire, and the City of the 
Twins fell beneath the iron-clad hoofs of the Northman’s 
battle steed. 

“On this side of the Black Ocean, we have witnessed 
the same facts. The republics of Nichhan surpassed the 
splendor of Dan and the wealth of Toadia, and they have 
long since vanished from the theater of national glory. 
Five hundred years ago, Perea was the brightest star in 
the constellation of nations, and she has waned and faded 
from the sky of the east. At the dawn of the Sixteenth 
Century, Reuben was the dominant power of the trans- 
arctic world. Her ships had broken the waves on every 
sea, her sails had been unfurled beneath the blue of every 
sky, and the sun in his daily course around the earth never 
set on her vast dominions. But the unequal distribution 
of wealth has brought her to the verge of ruin, and she 
will soon take her place among the ruined empires of an- 
tiquity. The same conditions prevailed in Simeon at the 
end of the Eighteenth Century; but the Revolution broke 
down the power of the aristocracy, divided the wealth of 
the nation, and saved the kingdom from impending doom. 

“Dan and Galilee and other nations in the north of 
New Israel were yet barbarous and their resources had 
not been developed, and their wealth had not yet been 
monopolized, when the southern nations were at the 
zenith of their glory, and thus they have not yet shown 
the signs of decay. But their hour is fast approaching, 
and the same fate will overtake them, as we have witnessed 
elsewhere. Let us awaken to the reality of the conditions 
which surround us, and assume the responsibility of citi- 
zenship and discharge our obligations to society. 

“The capitalists say that under Socialism our powers of 
productivity would be multiplied twenty-fold, and that we 
would have too much, and that that would be worse than 
starving. If men are not constantly employed they will 
become inert and slothful, and civilization will retrograde. 
These people presume that man is actuated solely by cor- 
poral desires, and forget the existence of the human mind. 
The sublimity of the human soul shines forth in all the 
works of the human race. It shines forth in the grand 
periods of Demosthenes, who electrified the statesmen of 


290 


LEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


Greece, and in the eloquent flights of Cicero who held in 
his hand the mighty heart of Rome. It shines forth in the 
brush of Raphael and Angelo, who gave the canvas life 
and speech and sketched the smile and frown. It shines 
forth in the chisel of Phidias and Praxiteles who carved 
the tear and sigh and made the marble laugh and weep. 
It shines forth in the visions of Daniel and the dreams of 
Isaias, in the lyre of Homer and the harp of Milton. It 
shines forth in the strains of Ohias and Zekel, who have 
thrilled the world with waves of symphony and floods 
of harmony. The majesty of the human soul beams forth 
in all the works of art, in all the achievements of science, 
in all the trophies of progress, in all the thoughts and in 
all the dreams, in all the raptures and in all the ecstasies, 
in all the flights of fancy, and in all the visions of glory 
that have made the golden page in the history of the 
world. 

“The mind of man is not circumscribed by space or 
time. It lives in every age and roams through every world. 
It has flown on the wings of thought to those distant stars 
whose rays have struggled through the long aeons to 
reach the atmosphere that envelops the earth. It has dis- 
covered that those faint specks of light that twinkle in the 
distant skies are glittering orbs and dazzling suns. It can 
sweep through all the boundless realms of space, and 
weigh all the globes and measure all the spheres. It can 
touch all the worlds and planets and constellations that 
wander through those vast realms where no sound has 
ever broken the deep silence of premundane existence. 

“The human mind can soar beyond flaming space, be- 
yond etherial zones, beyond those dark regions where no 
sun has ever cast his golden beams, and where night black 
and awful has hung his sable curtain. Let all the powers 
of government, let all the forces of society, be utilized in 
the development of our national genius. 

“Poverty has robbed the world of millions of great 
minds. Many a Homer has died in the furrow, and be- 
queathed no legacy to the human race. Many a Raphael 
has spent his life in the obscurity of his rural home, or has 
perished in the alleys of the world’s great cities, and left no 
monument to future ages. The development of genius 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


291 


depends on opportunities for thought and study, and our 
industrial system gives these advantages only to a favored 
few, and perhaps not to the brightest intellects of every 
age. Among the millions of men whose records are not 
written on the page of history there must have been some 
mighty minds. Let us, therefore, emancipate the human 
soul from the bondage of incessant toil, and our country 
will be filled with philosophers and scientists, poets and 
orators, painters and sculptors. We will collect the glory 
of all past centuries ; the genius of all the buried ages will 
be concentrated in our land. We will follow the eagle of 
progress in her flight beyond the glittering stars; bands 
of shining angels will sing the glory of our triumphs, and 
the smiles of God will light up all the realm, from the 
frozen bank of the Keron to the golden sands of the 
southern gulf.'' 

When Gilhooley concluded his speech, the immense 
throng went wild with enthusiasm. Mr. Lohman made a 
motion that Gilhooley be nominated President, and this 
was seconded by Mr. Merinan, and carried without a dis- 
sentient voice. McGillicuddy was then nominated Vice 
President. The convention decided to adopt a platform 
embodying the municipal ownership of light, water, elec- 
tric railways, and other public conveniences, the national 
ownership of railways, £he adoption of a labor dollar as 
legal tender for all debts, the same to be used in purchas- 
ing the industries of the nation, and direct legislation. 
According to this latter provision, no law could become a 
legal enactment, till put before the public, within two 
months from the adjournment of the legislature in case 
of a State law, or Congress in case of a national law, and 
corroborated by a plurality of the legal voters. The dele- 
gates decided to abandon their old party lines and names, 
and to be known in the future as the Socialist party. Thus 
Socialism, pure and simple, became the slogan of battle. 


292 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


CHAPTER XXXV. 

The return of Isaac Gilhooley created a sensation in 
Deboreh and throughout Toadia, and the identity of the 
skeleton found in the barn now agitated the people again. 
Since it was learned, during the trial of Jesse, that his real 
name was Isaac Guisman, every one concluded that the 
silver match case, with the initials “L G.,” found in the 
barn, was the property of Jesse, and this led to the suspi- 
cion that he was connected with the murder of the un- 
known victim. 

Mr. Reisan had mysteriously disappeared at the time, 
and had never been seen since, and as his wife had eloped 
with Jesse afterward, strong suspicion pointed to Mrs. 
Reisan, and she was arrested for complicity in the murder 
of her husband. She claimed that Reisan was still living, 
but she could not say where he was located, and could not 
give a satisfactory answer to the simplest questions rela- 
tive to the disappearance of her husband. She said that 
he had left her because of her infatuation for Jesse, and 
since then she had not heard from him. The jury passed 
sentence of life imprisonment on her for complicity in the 
death of Reisan. 

Judge Tischendorf was a constant visitor .to the cell of 
Guisman, and tried to get a new trial, but failed, and the 
day of the execution was near at hand. 

When the hope of liberty was haunting the minds of 
Guisman and Murphy and Mrs. Reisan, and when the So- 
cialists were working for the triumphs of equality, ideas 
of quite a different complexion were being discussed in 
the stately palace of Ezechias Rosenberger. Lord Aran 
and Lord Uriah had come to Engeddi to deliberate with 
the money kings over means of promoting the interests of 
the monarchy in the west, and saving the throne of Dan. 
Lord Aran proposed that it was now time to proclaim the 
eight year term. “You can easily do this, and this is the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


293 


only method of rescuing royalty from the wave of destruc- 
tion which now threatens the kings of the earth. Mur- 
murings of discontent resound throughout New Israel, 
and if Toadia throws her influence in the right direction, 
the question will be decided.” 

“But the people will rebel, and if we turn the army 
loose on them, they will gather around Gilhooley, and he 
will bring his ship from Arabia to hurl bolts of death from 
the clouds, and the fate of Toadia will be forever sealed, 
and the history of empire will be inhumed beneath the 
wreck of revolution.” 

“Ah! Rosenberger, you are a coward, and besides you 
do not understand the people. Pay the press to write 
glowing accounts of the administration, and the danger of 
a change at the present crisis when thrones are tottering, 
and you will find that seventy-five per cent of the people 
will be deluded and step into our ranks.” 

“Lord Aran,” said Lord Uriah, “how would it do to 
feel the pulse of the people through the press, and in the 
meantime we can gather our forces and transport the 
army from the Moabitic waves to assist us in case of re- 
bellion.” 

“That is it. Lord Uriah!” exclaimed all. “You have 
proposed the right plan, and it will succeed admirably.” 

The scheme was unanimously adopted. Communica- 
tions were forwarded to the great corporations and jour- 
nalists of the nation to assemble in Engeddi, where a meet- 
ing was to be held to weigh questions of vast moment to 
the Republic. Every precaution was taken to avoid pub- 
licity. The meeting was clandestine, reporters were ex- 
cluded and the matter was thoroughly discussed, and 
within a period of two weeks the people were startled by 
an editorial in the Deboreh World, advocating the neces- 
sity of an eight-year term. Every leading capitalist paper 
in the nation adopted the views of the World. 

But the plan was a total failure. The public was roused 
and flew to arms and threatened to wade through rivers of 
blood in defense of their time-honored rights. When the 
excitement was at its height, the press announced the ar- 
rest of Mike Gedeon and Sam Ackron as principals, and 
Ezachrias Rosenberger, Judge Tischendorf, Simon Lue- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


2p4 

meyer, Lord Aran and Lord Uriah as accessories in the 
blowing up of the battleship Tyre. Further information 
was detailed that those arrests had been made on the con- 
fession of Guisman and Murphy, who, with Gedeon and 
Ackron, had been employed by Rosenberger, Aran, 
Uriah, Tischendorf and Luemeyer to execute the deed. 

The country was astonished to learn that Samuel Lue- 
meyer had turned State’s evidence. In his confession he 
revealed the secret of the plot to overthrow the Republic 
of Toadia, and establish a monarchy; and for this purpose 
Aran, Uriah, Tischendorf, Rosenberger and himself, had 
employed Geisman to destroy the Tyre, in order to bring 
on a war, which they would use as a plea for expansion, 
imperialism and the necessity of a first-class navy and 
standing army, which they intended to use in the accom- 
plishment of their ulterior designs. He also gave the 
names of one hundred and twenty-five money kings who 
were abettors of the intrigue, and among others, Levd, 
Loveheart and Jonas, the committee that had investi- 
gated the disaster. 

The court passed sentence of death on Aran, Uriah, 
Tischendorf, Rosenberger, Ackron and Gedeon. 

When the verdict was read Geisman took the stand 
and made a confession of his life, stating that he had mur- 
dered two men, and committed twenty-two forgeries and 
twelve burglaries in the last nineteen years. He also af- 
firmed the evidence that had been adduced in court, and 
added much to confirm the proofs that had been advanced. 
He confessed that he had been released from life imprison- 
ment by Aran and Uriah, both of whom had been intimate 
with his father, to come to Toadia and thence sail for Ha- 
man, where he was to blow up the Tyre. “They offered 
me five hundred thousand dollars for the work, and I en- 
gaged the services of Murphy, Gedeon and Ackron, as 
assistants. 

I selected Murphy at the suggestion of Tischendorf, 
because the Judge said he was a cool and deliberate man, 
and was desperate enough to commit any deed. I em- 
ployed Gedeon and Ackron, because they were natives, 
and could give the requisite information how to proceed 
in the matter. With these three men I went to Engeddi, 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 295 

where we had a conference with Rosenberger, Uriah, 
Aran, Tischendorf and Luemeyer, at the home of Rosen- 
berger, and in presence of all the bargain was made. Ro- 
senberger was to give us ten thousand dollars each; but 
secretly, without the knowledge of my accomplices, I was 
to get four hundred and sixty thousand dollars in stock.” 

It was proved that this stock had been given to Geis- 
man by Rosenberger. “The work was done and the 
money was paid. After the destruction of the Tyre,” he 
continued, “I went to Dan, and in a short time I was em- 
ployed by the same parties to kill McGillicuddy and Gil- 
hooley, and thus destroy the power of ‘The Flaming 
Sword,’ cast opprobrium on Socialism, and turn the tide 
of sentiment against the reform movement. I went to 
Deboreh, sought the acquaintance of the editors, and 
courted their friendship for the purpose of finding a favor- 
able opportunity of executing the deed, thinking that my 
intimacy with the victims would shield me from the slight- 
est suspicion. I was to receive one hundred thousand 
dollars for the work. 

“One evening Teddy Einstein asked me if I ever knew 
a man by the name of Samuel Blymeyer. This was the 
name I had assumed in Haman; but I denied that I had 
ever met any one by that name. Teddy then said that he 
had met a gentleman of that name in Haman, adding 
that I resembled him very much. ‘Were you ever in 
Haman?’ I asked. ‘I was there when the Tyre was de- 
stroyed,’ he said. ‘I was there in the interest of the De- 
borah Tobacco Firm.’ I became confused. I concluded 
that Teddy had some knowledge of my antecedents, and 
I felt that his death was necessary to my safety, as the 
hint he had given might possibly lead to my arrest and 
conviction. 

“Another thought dawned on my mind. I was des- 
perately in love with Miss Biddy Einstein; but I learned 
that her heart was possessed by Isaac Gilhooley, and I 
conceived the idea of arranging the murder of Teddy 
under circumstances that would criminate Gilhooley and 
McGillicuddy. Thus I would achieve a treble victory. 
Teddy Einstein would be dead, and I would be safe; the 
editors would be hanged and ‘The Flaming Sword’ and 


296 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


the reform movement would be silenced forever, and I 
would get my payment for the work; Biddy Einstein 
would loathe the name of her affianced and marry me. 
Hence I feigned the chirography of Teddy in sending the 
note to the editors in reply to the challenge to meet them 
at the monument in the Park. I pretended to love Lucile 
Gehtheimer; but she was engaged to Teddy, and rejected 
my overtures. Her mother favored my attentions, and I 
told Mrs. Gehtheimer that Lucile would marry me, if 
Teddy were out of the way, and suggested the idea of 
murdering him, disclosing my scheme of criminating the 
editors for the deed. She accepted my views and offered 
her co-operation. 

‘T was on most intimate terms with these men, and 
was frequently in their apartments alone, and on one oc- 
casion I made the pattern of the keys that I required for 
my work. I thought that both editors would go to the 
monument, and their guilt would be established beyond a 
doubt. My plans miscarried to some extent, and thus 
McGillicuddy escaped from the trap. I would have writ- 
ten several days previously to the murder, but I was afraid 
the editors would see Teddy in the meantime, and demand 
an explanation of my note, and my plot would be foiled. 

“After the murder of Einstein, I thought it prudent to 
leave Toadia. I revealed my purpose to Mrs. Reisan, and 
she proposed to accompany me to my home in the vale of 
Sharon. But I said, ‘You have a husband, and he would 
kill us both if we attempted to elope.’ She said that she 
could get a divorce. But a new idea came into my mind. 
Reisan was worth several million dollars, and if his wife 
obtained a divorce, she would only get alimony. I wanted 
all the wealth. I proposed to poison him, and she acted 
on the suggestion and administered the drug. I imitated 
Reisan’s handwriting in making the deed of all his prop- 
erty in Deboreh to his wife. Reisan had every reason to 
be jealous of his wife’s attention to me, and I knew that 
his disappearance would be attributed to domestic infelic- 
ity, and that they had agreed to separate. The deed was 
executed. 

“Reisan died two hours after supper. That night I 
placed the corpse on the back seat of the carriage and 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


297 


Mrs. Reisan and I occupied the front seat. Murphy drove 
the carriage to the country, till we reached the barn that 
I had observed a few days before. I then took the corpse 
from the carriage and placed it in the barn, and set the 
barn afire, and immediately returned to the carriage and 
drove back to the city. The next morning the papers 
announced the burning of the barn, and the finding of 
the skeleton which was identified as that of Isaac Gilhoo- 
ley; but it was the skeleton of Reisan, and the silver match 
case with the initials T. G.’ engraved on it, was a present 
from my father, who died many years ago. I opened the 
match case to get a match to light the barn, and in my 
excitement I dropped the match case and forgot to pick 
it up. 

“Since my arrest, Tischendorf encouraged me by say- 
ing that Lord Aran, Uriah and the others would accom- 
plish their purpose before the day of my execution, and 
they would release me. I lived in this hope till they were 
arrested, and now I see that all is over with me. Wealth 
and idleness have been the cause of my ruin. Had I been 
taught to labor in my youth, and had necessity compelled 
me to earn my living in the sweat of my brow, I would 
never have been sentenced to die on a scaffold. My life is 
a lesson on the wisdom of Socialism.’’ 

Thus ended the great tragedy, and the last words of 
the culprit as he was about to don the black cap were 
spoken in condemnation of the system which has wrecked 
millions of lives. 


CHAPTER XXXVI. 

The money power in Toadia was wielded in behalf of 
the conspirators, and it was maintained by the press that 
these men were as innocent as unborn babes. The De- 
borah Herald denounced the arrest of the traitors as a dis- 
grace to the nation. “The men who have built up our 
country, who have defended the flag, and filled the land 


298 


BaYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


with the blessings of prosperity, are taken from their pa- 
latial homes and thrown into jails with the common herd. 
Such a crime was never perpetrated by a civilized people. 
The rabble seem to forget that these gentlemen are the 
glory of the Republic, the pride of our country, the com- 
panions of royalty. Jails were made only for thieves and 
robbers and the dirty poor, not for lords and noblemen. 
The officers who arrested Mr. Rosenberger and Judge 
Tischendorf and Samuel Luemeyer are not fit to wipe the 
feet of their prisoners, and as for the noble Danish Lords, 
ah! what Toadian would not be proud to know them! 
What official cur would not kiss the very ground that they 
have consecrated by their footsteps! 

“The authorities shall liberate those men at once, and 
get down on bended knees, and humbly ask pardon for 
the awful offense that has been offered to them, and take 
the subordinates who arrested them, and lash their naked 
back in the public square. Call the army from the forts 
and field of battle, summon the militia from every State, 
and put down this outrage. This is the rule of the prole- 
tariat, the low, vulgar rabble. If these contemptible var- 
lets and uncultivated bumpkins are not restrained, the 
government will soon be in their hands. This intrigue 
had been planned and witnesses suborned to prosecute 
these men in order to arouse the people against the gov- 
ernment and create a civil war.” 

Hundreds of journals throughout the realm echoed 
the sentiments of the Herald, and preparations were being 
made by the financial aristocracy of the nation to liberate 
the traitors by the force of arms, and silence the voice of 
justice. “The Flaming Sword” warned the people of the 
movement, and told them to arise and defend their sacred, 
inalienable rights; and three million of stalwart men flew 
to arms. The forts of the nation were captured, and the 
soldiers commanded to remain inactive; the capital was 
surrounded by a hundred thousand yeomen, who threat- 
ened to burn the city if any attempt were made to rescue 
the traitors. 

The election took place on the 21st of November, two 
weeks after the trial, and the patriotic people of the land, 
having witnessed the perfidy of the capitalists, knowing 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


299 


that it was the death struggle between freedom and despo- 
tism, the former represented by the wage earner, the 
second embracing money kings and the dishonest hordes 
that supported their pretentio-ns, were not to be deceived 
any longer. The defenders of justice and liberty came 
from all ranks, abandoned the old parties, and affiliated 
with Socialism, which won the victory by nearly two mil- 
lions of a majority over the votes of all the other parties 
combined. 

When Congress convened, laws were framed in har- 
mony with the platform of the Socialist party, and on the 
first of March, 1865, these enactments were referred to 
the people at the polls and were confirmed by an over- 
whelming majority. The absorption of industries and mo- 
nopolies was gradual. The government first proposed to 
buy the Engeddi and Sohanan railroad, which connected 
the two oceans. The company asked twelve hundred mil- 
lion dollars for the line, the capitalized value of the road. 
The government estimated the cost of the road, including 
equipment, at two hundred million, and made an offer of 
this sum to the management, which was peremptorily de- 
clined. Then the government established a rival line. 
When the road was completed, the government gave 
wages of four dollars per day, double the amount paid on 
the private roads, reduced the cost of freight to one-fourth 
of its former rate, and carried passengers for one-tenth of 
a cent per mile. 

The Engeddi and Sohanan road could get neither la- 
borers, freight nor passengers, till it offered the same in- 
ducements. Of course, it was impossible, under these 
conditions, to pay dividends on watered stock, and in less 
than two years the private road was wrecked. The patron- 
age of the government road was so increased, and the 
profits so enhanced that every dollar of debt contracted in 
the construction of the line was paid before the next Presi- 
dential election. This was encouraging to the hopes of the 
Socialists, and it emphatically proclaimed the wisdom of 
their measures. The government now purchased every 
line in the nation, and within a few years more the profits 
realized in operating these roads had liquidated the debt 
incurred in their purchase. Then wages were advanced 


3CX) BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 

and rates further diminished. Now the government car- 
ries passengers free, and the freight alone realizes a net 
profit of fifty million dollars annually. 

The municipalities began immediately to purchase the 
street railway, gas, water and electric light plants. The 
wages of employes were doubled, the rates to the con- 
sumers reduced to one-fourth the former cost, and in a 
few years the profits realized were amply sufficient to 
liquidate the debt contracted in the purchase of these in- 
dustries. The government also established factories of 
various kinds. The competitive system has been sup- 
planted by the co-operative system; the middlemen and 
parasites of society have long ceased to exist, and the 
dreams of Socialism have been realized. Political parties 
have passed away, and the evolution of labor unions has 
culminated in the formation of an industrial government. 

The administration first made its appointments subject 
to the will of the workers, who had the right to make any 
change that seemed desirable. For instance, in the shoe 
trade, the operatives in each factory elect their foreman. 
The foremen of the different factories of a State elect their 
superintendent for the State. The different State super- 
intendents elect a director, who represents the shoe in- 
dustry in Congress. So with all other trades, professions 
and avocations. The foreman is elected and holds office 
during good behavior. He has a right to discharge any 
operative and correct any abuse, but he can be dismissed 
by a majority of the operatives and another put in his 
place. The State superintendents also hold office during 
good behavior. The imperative mandate gives the fore- 
men power to dismiss him at any time, when he fails to 
discharge his duty. The directors are elected on the same 
conditions, and the president is elected by all the people 
and holds his office for a period of eight years, but may be 
recalled at any time by the imperative mandate. The di- 
rectors can discharge a superintendent for incompetency 
or any other cause within his sphere of duty, and the State 
superintendents have the same power over the foremen. 

Congress makes laws regulating the national indus- 
tries, and one day is appointed in the year for the people 
to vote on those laws. State legislatures have been abol- 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


301 


ished as a useless expense, since every question has a na- 
tional importance under a government of national co- 
operation. The Senate has also been abolished. The 
hours of labor are regulated according to the requirements 
of the nation. The government produces quantities suffi- 
cient to keep the people in luxuries, and provides amply 
for all the aged and infirm, who are pensioners of society. 
A small tax is imposed on every industry for this purpose. 
This fund is called the government insurance fund. 

The land was nationalized by a gradual increase in the 
annual taxation, and in 1874 private ownership ceased to 
exist in every part of the country. Every man has a right 
to the land upon which his residence is located, but he 
must pay the usual land tax. Those desiring to have ex- 
tensive lawns pay the required tax. This small income is 
sufficient to defray the expenses of the government, since 
the establishment of Socialism, for all useless factors are 
now eliminated, and economy is observed in all depart- 
ments. There are no sinecures. 

The government does not interfere with the privacy 
of the home or the affairs of religion. Churches and de- 
nominational schools are supported by private contribu- 
tions as formerly. Religious prejudice has entirely dis- 
appeared, and people of all creeds live in harmony and 
edify the world by lives filled with the spirit of love. 

In the beginning of the co-operative commonwealth, 
some men were actuated by a desire to accumulate wealth, 
and while they had a right to all they had produced, yet 
there was no room for speculation, there were no profits in 
making investments, there was no field for business, and 
there was no property for sale. Mr. Lukenmeyer built 
several houses, but he could find no renters, for every one 
owned his home. The experiment was also tried by others 
with the same results. 

Theodore Hertzka, the Austrian Socialist, computed 
how much land and labor would be required to furnish the 
twenty-six million Austrians with all comforts, giving to 
each family a five-room house. He concluded his investi- 
gation with the statement that it would take twenty-six 
million acres of arable land, and eight million of pasturage, 
or one and one-third acres for each person, and the labor 


4 


302 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


of six hundred and fifteen thousand men, eleven hours per 
day, for three hundred days in the year. Now six hun- 
dred and fifteen thousand people constitute only two per 
cent of the population of Austria. If we take nineteen per 
cent, or five millions, which will include all the males be- 
tween sixteen and fifty, working eleven hours a day, they 
could supply the wants of twenty-six million with thirty- 
seven days’ labor in a year. If they worked three hundred 
days in the year, they would be required to labor only one 
hour and twenty-two and one-half minutes each day. The 
same number of people working two hours and eleven 
minutes each day, could supply the rest of the inhabitants 
with all luxuries; or if they labored three hours and twelve 
minutes, they would be required to work only seven 
months in the year. 

The facilities of production have been so multiplied in 
Toadia since 1864 that twenty per cent of the population 
laboring one hour each day support the nation in luxuries. 
In some industries, such as farming, the hours are longer, 
but the toilers work only a few months in the year, and this 
makes an average of one hour for the whole year. 

The young pursue their studies till they are twenty 
years of age, and before they enter the arena of life, they 
are equipped with a thorough mental training. But they 
do not abandon their intellectual exercises when they have 
finished their course of studies. Every city and town has 
a university, and lectures in all the sciences are delivered to 
the public free of cost. You may observe the gray-haired 
octogenarean mingling with the beardless youths in the 
halls of the university, eager to grasp the words of wis- 
dom that fall from the lips of the great men employed to 
impart their knowledge to the nation. The most ignor- 
ant class in Toadia to-day compare favorably with the best 
educated men in America. 

Idleness is stigmatized as the greatest vice, the source 
of all misery, and emulation in the acquisition of learning 
has become a passion with the people. Works of philan- 
thropy are rewarded with public honors, and those who 
are not qualified by natural genius to excel in mental pur- 
suits, devote their time to some public enterprise. 

The air-ship, invented by Gilhooley, has become the 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


303 

ordinary convenience of transportation for passengers. 
Many, of course, prefer the railroads, for they cannot con- 
ceive that the winged cars are entirely safe. But when 
this feeling has been overcome, no other convenience will 
be used. They have large air-ships for public service, in 
conveying passengers across the continent and beyond the 
ocean; and they also have private ships for family ser- 
vices. The ships travel at the rate of four hundred miles 
an hour. The business men employed in the cities gener- 
ally live far away on the mountain tops, or by the sea or 
lake shores, and by means of the air-ship find it no incon- 
venience to travel this distance every morning. 

The Toadians were troubled for many centuries with 
the short nights and the excessive cold of the brumal sea- 
son; and since the establishment of the new regime the 
difficulty has been surmounted. An apparatus has been 
invented to store up the heat and light of the sun’s rays, 
which can be preserved and utilized and regulated by 
means of a register. This force is now used very ex- 
tensively in residences for heating, lighting and cooking 
purposes, and also as a motive power in propelling trains 
and ships. 

Some experiments' have been» tried with terrestrial elec- 
tricity, and the results have promised a great victory in 
the near future. The earth is charged with electrical cur- 
rents, and by utilizing this vast treasure of natural power, 
they will soon be enabled to banish night completely from 
the dominion of the trans-arctic world. 

Ignatius Donnelly speaks of this in “Caesar’s Col- 
umn,” a dream of the twentieth century, and he says that 
the currents are so arranged that the electrical day rises 
with the twilight shadows, and vanishes with the blush of 
the infant morn. 

A contrivance for making rain has been devised, and 
the farmers can call down the clouds at pleasure. This 
invention is also used for sprinkling lawns and other do- 
mestic purposes. The electricity has been extracted from 
the clouds, and unequal heating of the atmosphere is regu- 
lated, so as to prevent cyclones, tornadoes and storms, and 
the elements have been subjected to the will of man. 

The new residences of Toadia are made of thick, 


304 


BEYOND THE BLACK OCEAN 


Opaque glass. Wireless telegraphy has been perfected, 
but has since been supplanted by mental telegraphy, which 
enables persons to communicate with any part of the uni- 
verse. Frequent communications have been sent to Mars, 
and answers were promptly returned. The inhabitants of 
Mars informed the Toadians that they have been sending 
messages to the earth for the last two thousand years, but 
failed to get a reply, owing to the ignorance of our people 
of the science of mental telegraphy. They also stated that 
the white caps, which we periodically observe at the poles 
of their globe, are snow, which melted during the summer 
months, and ran over their continent. They used this 
overflow for irrigating purposes, causing the beautiful 
green fields observed from the earth. 

Hundreds of other inventions and discoveries have 
added to the comfort of the people, and the progress of 
their nation. Poverty is unknown ; criminals have ceased 
to haunt the shadows of night and curse the nation with 
their iniquities. Prisons are no more, and the insane asy- 
lums are empty. Disease has been almost entirely extir- 
pated, and longevity has increased wonderfully. War has 
been banished from the trans-arctic world, and Socialism 
is triumphant in every country in New Israel. 

Moses Gilhooley and his wife have passed away, and 
Abraham McGillicuddy mourns the loss of his sire. Biddy 
and Mary Ann are still basking in the smiles of connubial 
bliss, and are blessed with the love and devotion of their 
children. Isaac and Abraham, though advanced in years, 
are strong in physical and mental vigor, and are devoting 
their time to the cultivation of science and literature. 
Patrick Einstein and his wife have joined the choir beyond 
the mystic valley, and their grandson, young Benjamin 
Gilhooley, is President of the Toadian commonwealth. 
The Gehtheimers and Mrs. Reisan have succumbed to the 
severities of prison life, and have appeared before the trib- 
unal of justice to answer for their dark deeds. 

Thus ends the story “Beyond the Black Ocean.” 



Jan -80 IPOl 


81 1901 






